While walking on the sidewalks, you may have noticed small, colorful bumps where the sidewalk meets the road. What are these bumps? Why are they placed so strategically at the edge of the sidewalk, at crosswalks, and near public transportation? What purpose do they serve? Are they there to increase the grip on the road? Or, do they serve some other purpose? Let’s find out!

Most suburban areas in the United States are created for the able-bodied individuals who own a car. Neighborhoods rarely have sidewalks, and many roads are long connecting points between neighborhoods and shopping centers. While suburbia may be a great area for a casual stroll, it’s not exactly great for those trying to get from home to work.

First and foremost, detectable warning tiles and surfaces were designed to assist individuals with disabilities to safely navigate public spaces, and then, in 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandated the use of detectable warning tiles in public areas throughout the United States.

The development of larger cities grew exponentially in the past fifty years, leaving us with rapidly built cities that have given too little thought to the disabled members of their population. Now is the time to reassess how to be more inclusive in the built environment so that people of all abilities and diversity experience a living environment that meets their needs.

To serve the community of individuals with disabilities, many state and local governments and some private companies have established paratransit transportation options. Paratransit transportation is meant to supplement public fixed-route bus and rail systems for individuals with severe impairments. From a taxi-like service to a semi-defined route, paratransit services often have varying levels of flexibility.

An accessible world is crucial for people of all abilities to work, live, and play. However, even in the most progressive cities, people with disabilities struggle to live their lives, which only gets worse in the suburbs and rural areas.

One result of population growth within cities is something called urban expansion, which is the unrestricted growth of housing, businesses, and roads without any specific planning. Urban expansion influences cities’ social and environmental dynamics, causing a number of disadvantages, including longer commutes, higher transportation costs, pollution, and loss of countryside.

The Americans with Disability Act outlines the standards required to make a parking lot ADA compliant, specifically when it comes to restriping the parking spots. Over time, the paint in parking lots fades, and it becomes more and more difficult to determine the parking spots. At this point, businesses are required to restripe their parking lot and to ensure that the parking lot is ADA compliant.

An ideal bike pathway is seamlessly incorporated into city infrastructure, easily serving cyclists and pedestrians without hampering motor vehicle traffic. Preferably in bright contrast with its surroundings, this bike pathway stands out from the pavement to provide recognizable traffic patterns that keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.  

Urban planners have explored many options for bike pathways in order to determine the best option for commuters. 

Tactile paving, now known as detectable warning dome tiles, was first developed by Seiichi Miyake in 1965 to help people with vision impairments navigate public spaces.  Major cities and transportation networks throughout the world use detectable warning dome tiles.