UB IDeA Center receives $4.6 million federal grant

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center) has received a fourth round of federal funding to continue its work on a wide range of universal design projects.

Universal design strives to improve usability, health and social participation, while accommodating the diversity of abilities and needs in the population. The grant continues a streak of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) funding previously awarded to the IDeA Center that began in 1999.

The five-year, $4.6 million grant took effect Sept. 30 and was awarded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (#90RE5005-01-00).

The IDeA Center is recognized around the world as a leader in the field of universal design of the built environment. The latest funding represents a continuing commitment by NIDILRR to the IDeA Center’s work, and acknowledges the critical need for continued research and development in this field.

“The primary goal of the new grant cycle will be to advance the practice of universal design as an evidence-based endeavor,” said Edward Steinfeld, SUNY Distinguished Professor and IDeA Center director. “With our partners both inside and outside the university, we will apply well developed methods from previous cycles to demonstrate the value of adopting universal design on a widespread basis in architecture and product design,” added Steinfeld, the principal investigator on the grant.

Research partners include the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and the University of Michigan. Some of the projects this new funding will support over the five-year grant cycle include:

• An evaluation of the effectiveness of universal design (UD) in practice in the built environment to characterize and quantify the value of increased UD implementation. As part of the NIDILRR-funded initiative, UB researchers will evaluate a Fortune 100 company’s office building, a transit station, and a local housing project and streetscape design that either have or plan to include UD goals in their design process and construction. To gauge the strength of the design, the team will invite people with disabilities to compare their experiences navigating the UD site to their experiences navigating a comparable building that does not incorporate universal design.
• A series of human factors studies that target critical accessibility, safety and usability issues for individuals with impairments. For example, researchers will address strategic needs for knowledge in three areas: (1) improving usability and safety of stairs and walking surfaces through new and improved standards and products, (2) identifying user requirements and best practices for smartphone apps used in wayfinding, and (3) developing and testing product evaluation methods that can be implemented in the new product development process.
• With a variety of industry partnerships, the team will develop several innovative products and bring others, already underway, to commercialization. Products include smart signage and wayfinding systems, tactile warnings for cold weather climates, and innovative recreation facilities for children.

The effort will also help increase the pool of professionals who practice universal design, with research dollars supporting advanced graduate assistantships and continuing education, as well as outreach to community members and other key stakeholder groups at the local, regional, and international levels.

The IDeA Center, which is housed in the UB School of Architecture and Planning, works closely with researchers in the School of Public Health and Health Professions and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UB. In addition to its work on universal design, the IDeA Center is also collaborating with colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University on a second five-year RERC cycle to advance public transportation for people with disabilities.