Adapting Urban Design Solutions

A few weeks ago, google’s doodle honored the first installation of this tactile pavement also known as “Tenji blocks” or sometimes braille blocks. Japanese inventor Seiichi Miyake designed these blocks to alert vision-impaired individuals of when they are close to train platform edges and traffic. The two types of patterns – blocks to signal caution and bars to signal pedestrian traffic direction, were instrumental in allowing individuals with visual disabilities to navigate public city spaces safely and independently. An innovation that started 52 years ago at an intersection in Okayama, Japan, has now grown to be standard in cities all over the world. An example of the ways cities can learn from each other, these kinds of urban design solutions are critical and we must make every effort to increase accessibility across NYC. They are invaluable to maintaining the safety and independence of all New Yorker’s, disabled or not. As we plan to improve our city to work better for the environment, we must also make it work better for all of the people who call it home.