Clark Miller, Claire Gordon. “Disableb by Design.” How a lack of imagination in technology keeps the world inaccessible to huge numbers of people. N.p., n.d. Web.

 

Clark Miller and Claire Gordon of Future Tense Magazine, collaborated with Arizona State University, New America, and Slate to create the article, ” Disabled by Design” on which it is stated that “the problem of disability was not inherent to bodies but rather a result of poor technological design.” The article gets it’s information from the Americans with Disabilities Act that believes that “technology’s patterns force people to design their own bodies to fit in- or those patterns exclude people from participation when they don’t fit,” additional information also comes in a form a military example which shows that certain soldiers are not fit to do some jobs because of their physical shape, and many general examples are used to show that everyone is limited because of technology and architecture even if they do not have a disability. The article informs the reader that structure affects more people than the ones that are physically disabled. “Rather than designing the world so that a diverse population can function and thrive within it, technology’s patterns force people to design their own bodies to fit in—or those patterns exclude people from participation when they don’t fit.” Technology has started to shape designs by limiting its users, because it doesn’t take into consideration all of its potential users. Technology cannot only physically limit a person but it can also limit a person based on their “cognitive skills”. The overall purpose is to get the audience to see that a person with a disability is not the only person limited by an architectural or technological design. A perfectly healthy person can be limited as well. Everything from height, to weight, to thinking capacity can limit the performance of a person. Anyone studying the built environment or the idea behind a design, should read this articles to learn about different factors that go unnoticed. Limitations are not just for people with disabilities but for everyone.

 

BY: Nancy Ramirez & Destiny Dickens