Access for all

Architects and urban planners treat access as a foundational concept. Their work covers reaching a building on foot and moving between its floors, as well as installing the technical systems that make it usable. The same concern extends outward to streets, pedestrian routes, parks, plazas, whole cities and entire regions.

The idea reaches well beyond the built environment. Access also shapes how people obtain knowledge and schooling, how they reach digital media such as the internet, how they receive medical care, and how they learn languages.

This volume brings together thirteen essays on access in architecture, city planning and related fields. The contributors examine how whole urban districts can be made reachable, how areas once used for other purposes can be redeveloped, why residents should take part in early planning, and how buildings can contribute to a better quality of life.