Part 2: Why Access Matters | Aiming for ALL Guided Tour

Pathway 1: What About Curb Cuts?

Start with curb cuts

A curb cut is the small ramp where a sidewalk meets the street. Disability rights activists campaigned for them. Now people with strollers, suitcases, and bikes use them too.

This is often called the curb cut effect. Pathway 1 of the collection asks us to look at it carefully:

The goal of curb cuts is not to benefit everyone. The goal is equity and inclusion for the people being denied access. The wider benefits are a consequence of working towards that goal.

What's in Pathway 1

The resources in Pathway 1: What About Curb Cuts? (opens in a new tab) come from the voices of people with disabilities. They describe why accessibility matters and what is lost when we do not treat it as a human right. There are three parts:

Try this (about 4 minutes)

Open B. Disability Voices for Learning Communities (opens in a new tab).
Choose one resource. Read, watch, or listen for a few minutes.
You do not need to finish it. You can come back later.

Think about it, or talk about it

Whose voice did you hear?
What barrier did they name?
Where might that barrier show up in your school, campus, or community?