ADAPT: A Collaborative Approach to Accessible Affordable Housing

Abstract

This paper describes the outcomes of an interdisciplinary research collaboration focused on a call issued by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address a need for designs for accessible affordable housing and plans for modifications necessary to make homes readily adaptable to meet the needs of individuals and families seeking to age-in-place (AIP). Specifically, the research team was directed to considered housing types with four or fewer units, commonly described as ‘missing middle’ or ‘middle density’ housing types, which fall outside of the purview of United States Fair Housing Agency (FHA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.

Two working groups established foundational research for the team and advisory council’s review before moving into design work. One working group’s literature review revealed numerous scattered high-quality resources addressing a range of topics from spatial considerations to financial resources and funding programs for aging-in- place renovations and new construction. The second working group conducted a series of focus groups with individuals with mobility and visual disabilities seeking to age-in-place.

After presenting these findings to HUD, the project team shifted approach from developing renovation design plans and singular housing prototype designs to the development of a web-app that consolidated AIP best practices and resources and to a consideration of aging-in-place more broadly than the specific design of non-detached single- family homes, semi-detached townhomes, and structures with four or fewer residential units. The team explored housing prototype design solutions that reinvested in neighborhoods with substantial vacancy by identifying land banked properties and zoning changes that would allow infill development of a range of middle density housing types. The design studies propose infill development of middle density housing types in neighborhoods with land banked properties and a return to prior land use scenarios through zoning modification.