Rosemarie Rossetti: Designing Homes that Work for Everyone

Today’s guest on The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast is an expert in universal design: an approach to building spaces in a way that benefits both people living with disabilities and people who aren’t.

After an accident several decades ago, Rosemarie Rossetti began using a wheelchair and she and her husband quickly realized the home they lived in would no longer accommodate her needs. After searching for a more accessible place to live and coming up short, they decided to build their own universally designed home and use it as a “living laboratory” to show others what is possible in home construction. 

Whether you live with a disability or not, know that many of your neighbors and fellow residents do and, as we age, it’s likely that we may also one day desire homes that accommodate mobility challenges or other needs. What would it mean to be able to stay in our current houses or apartments rather than having to move to a facility? This is the promise of universal design, among other things, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot to implement, either. 

Rosemarie Rossetti is a speaker, author, and leader in this field. We hope you enjoy this conversation about universal design.

Additional Show Notes

• Rosemarie Rossetti’s website

• Universal Design Living Laboratory website

• Check out the Universal Design Toolkit

• Send your story ideas to rachel@strongtowns.org.

• Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.