When we know how to design for everyone, across all phases of life?

As climate disasters intensify, a troubling truth has emerged: persons with disabilities are up to four times more likely to die or be injured in emergencies like floods and hurricanes. Not because disability makes people weaker, but because our systems aren’t built for diverse needs. Too many aspects of society — from schooling to city planning — assume a “normal” user and treat accessibility as optional. Yet we know how to design for everyone. Universal design principles exist and assistive technologies abound; the issue is that we fail to apply them. I see this disconnect daily in my work as an inclusion advocate — especially in climate change efforts. People with disabilities (over 1 billion worldwide) are routinely sidelined in climate planning and policy. Every time I see an evacuation plan that ignores wheelchair users or a public meeting about sustainability without sign language interpretation, I ask myself, “Why design systems that exclude so many, when we could include everyone?” This article explores some of these failures and, crucially, how we can fix them.

The Cost of Exclusion

The consequences of designing for a narrow slice of the population are evident all around us. Many schools and public facilities still lack basic accessibility features. A public library built with only stairs at its entrance, for instance, sends a message that wheelchair users aren’t welcome. Lack of planning for diverse needs can even be life-threatening. For example, many emergency alert systems are not accessible to people who are deaf or blind – relying solely on sirens or on-screen text with no alternatives. This means a deaf family might never hear a tornado warning, or a blind person could miss a visual flood alert. During disasters, the absence of ramps at shelters or sign language support can leave people stranded. “I had no way to escape when the floods came,” recalled one flood survivor with a disability. “The rescue shelter had no ramps or sign support, so I stayed home and hoped for the best.” Research confirms this pattern: after Japan’s 2011 tsunami, the mortality rate among persons with disabilities was two to four times higher than for others – a chilling statistic mirrored in many disasters. Exclusion is visible even at high levels of climate action. In 2021, at the COP26 climate summit, one nation’s energy minister – a wheelchair user – could not access meetings because the venue wasn’t wheelchair-friendly. If a leader can be literally shut out of climate talks due to poor design, imagine how often ordinary people with disabilities are shut out of local planning meetings or public consultations. For most, exclusion is a daily reality, not front-page news. And it’s a reality more of us will face as we age – almost everyone will experience disability at some point, whether through illness, injury, or aging.

Designing for All: An Inclusive Path Forward

The good news is that inclusive design is not uncharted territory – it often already exists around us, waiting to be embraced more widely. A famous example is the “curb-cut effect”: sidewalk ramps created for wheelchair users have ended up benefiting parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, delivery workers, and many others. This illustrates a key principle: when we design for those at the margins, we make things better for everyone. In climate adaptation and public services, this means building systems from the ground up with accessibility in mind. Imagine if emergency communications from the start used multiple formats – audible alarms, text messages, and visual cues – so no one is left in the dark (or left in silence). Cities could ensure cooling centers during heatwaves have wheelchair access and staff trained to assist people with cognitive disabilities. Schools using universal design for learning would present information in diverse ways (text, audio, Braille, visuals), helping not only students with disabilities but all students learn better. Inclusive design can also drive innovation: for instance, developing solar-powered battery chargers for electric wheelchairs can spur advances that benefit the wider community’s use of renewable energy. Indeed, studies show that excluding persons with disabilities from climate efforts has dramatic consequences, while inclusion leads to better outcomes for entire communities. When people with disabilities are involved in disaster planning, the resulting strategies tend to save more lives – proving that accessibility isn’t a favor to a few; it’s a smart resilience strategy. High-level policies are slowly acknowledging this. The preamble of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change recognizes the rights of persons with disabilities, and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) obligates governments to protect people with disabilities in all emergency situations. These commitments set the stage, but concrete action is now needed to fulfill them.

Accountability and Collaboration

To truly design systems for everyone, we must hold institutions accountable and include people with disabilities at every step. Accessibility standards should be treated as non-negotiable, and “nothing about us without us” must guide policy-making. The voices of those with lived experience need to be at the center – from city planning committees to climate action task forces. Activists consistently tell me they don’t want pity – they want partnership. “Environmental groups talk about saving the planet but forget people like us,” one interviewee observed, emphasizing that climate justice must include disability justice. Encouragingly, inclusive coalitions are forming: disability advocates, environmental organizations, and tech innovators are teaming up to drive creative solutions. By enforcing existing laws, committing to universal design in all projects, and empowering grassroots leadership, we can ensure no one is left behind as we build a sustainable future.

The climate crisis compels us to redesign our world with inclusion as the default. Designing for an “average” person has always been a flawed approach – we must design for humanity in all its diversity. The disability community’s motto, “nothing about us without us,” should guide all climate and development efforts. A truly sustainable future is one where no one is left behind. We have the knowledge and tools to design for everyone across all phases of life – now it’s time to use them.

References

World Economic Forum / WHO – Global Disability Prevalence & Disaster Risk: ~15% of the world’s population (over 1.3 billion people) experience disability, and persons with disabilities are “two to four times more likely to die or be injured” in climate-related disasters.

ADA.gov – Emergency Alerts Accessibility: Many emergency warning systems are not accessible to people who are deaf or blind.

In These Times (2022) – Climate Summit Exclusion: COP26 incident where a minister using a wheelchair couldn’t attend due to inaccessible facilities.

Stanford Social Innovation Review (2017) – “Curb-Cut Effect”: Accommodations (like sidewalk curb cuts) designed for people with disabilities benefit a much wider population.

GLAD Network (2021) – Policy & Inclusion: Excluding persons with disabilities from climate action worsens outcomes; notes Paris Agreement and CRPD commitments to disability-inclusive strategies.