White Papers

Discovering Barriers

Improving the Built Environment for Individuals with IDD

As part of Perkins Eastman’s Fellowship program, we bolster research, field work, and initiatives that support equity, inclusion, and design excellence. Our latest fellow, Julia Wilson, tackles accessibility in our most essential spaces for people with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD). With a spotlight on grocery stores, she highlighted how stressors in the built environment can hinder people with IDD’s ability to live independently. In Discovering Barriers, she recommends improvements to food suppliers on the local and international level to get us closer to universally designed spaces.