On Thursday February 8th, Jon Sanford presented at the College of Architecture's Research Forum.  He discussed "Usable Space or Inclusive Places: Why the ADA Didn’t Live Up to Its Promise and What is the Alternative". Sanford addresses that the ADA is driven by removing barriers to specific activities.  This is a great thing but the ADA needs to continue with the effort past activity into including participation of people with disabilities.

Sanford deduces that Activity creates the outcome of Usable spaces and products but Participation leads to meaningful places.  These meaningful places create a sense of belonging and inclusion in addition to usability and independence.  Sanford proposes the idea that we should design for the Activity and Participation instead of the ADA's current method of just focusing on Activity.

The COA Research Forum provides an informal setting for the Georgia Tech community to learn about research within the College of Architecture. Forums are free and open to the public and participants are invited to explore ideas and identify opportunities for collaboration.  All talks are held in the Architecture Library from 11 a.m. to noon on the last Thursday of August through April. Talks are 30-to-45 minutes followed by questions and discussion.