A 2014 report by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies found that the five most important universal design features in the home are:
- No step entries
- Extra-wide hallways
- Accessible living spaces on the ground floor
- Accessible light switches and door levers
- Getting safely and securely into and out of the house
Less than 1% of homes in America have these; designers and builders are making fortunes the way things are. Anything else would be ‘risky’ and impact the bottom line.
Life has always been, and always will be dangerous. It seems to be more risky than less. The idea is to make it impeccably less dangerous. We are biological entities with imperatives and predilections; we must be protected.
There are some obvious indicators we can count on:
- The Earth’s temperature is rising dramatically in weather and politics.
- Death by home has never been more popular – bathrooms, stairs and bad designs are the big heavies.
- Health professionals are not always reliable. We are Big Pharm’s personal Petri dish. Hospital parking lots are always full.
- Food, water, and air are no longer reliable on several levels. Toxic PFAs (perflouroalkyl) all over 30 states except Seattle and Tuscalusa (700’ wells) have recommended safe percentages. Consumption of food and water now has a mortality rate, air quality is getting worse every day, and residential housing is quick, furious and ridden with un-ergonomic and ignored principles.
Citizens will have fewer and fewer options to disengage from grid influence, and must accept the results of these incomplete and incompetent systems.
There are times when families and friends will connect to form an intentional, continuous legacy and now it is a small surge that is growing stronger. Family farm trends are on the rise, making room for Moondance.
Life is not safe; no guarantees and not much you can do about it. However, you can at least provide a tactically neutral site where you control the field and a completely ergonomic design so the place where the family lives IS safe. When you control the location and operations of your nest you have a major influence in the most important facet of control: personal safety.
The search for more control dominates our lives. It is elusive. When we define control for ourselves it is usually for complex patterns in our daily processes. That is not enough. To amplify our chances to be safe it is understood that lifestyles are keys to success. It helps to:
- Desire continuance.
- Be independent.
- Be mindful of the flow and seek the zone.
- Define what ‘safe’ means and find that place.