Current Work: Accessible Streets

In spring 2024, the League is focusing on the imperative for more accessible spaces, from different perspectives and through different typologies. Following the lead of disability justice organizers to uplift intersectional approaches over notions of universality, our hope is to reach beyond the often inconsistently executed design ramifications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to address how the fields that are charged with planning, design, construction, and management can more fully support the creation of an inclusive built environment.

As our streetscapes evolve to respond to pedestrianization, multimodal transit, outdoor dining, electric vehicles, and more, how do designers ensure that these layered interventions make streets more accessible for pedestrians, rather than obstruct their paths? Current Work: Accessible Streets will explore the changing profile of New York City’s streets on either side of the curb with a focus on mobility.

Current Work: Accessible Streets explores these questions with a panel of experts: Claire Weisz and Adam Lubinsky of design firm WXY architecture + urban design and Edmund E. Asiedu, accessibility policy analyst and ADA Coordinator for the New York City Department of Transportation. The program is moderated by Mariana Mogilevich, editor-in-chief of Urban Omnibus. After the panel concludes, attendees join WXY facilitators “on the street” for a workshop focused on sensory experiences of the urban landscape.

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The views expressed in the League’s online and in-person programs are those of the speakers only and do not reflect an official position of The Architectural League of New York.