Access for Everyone

About the publication...

Access for Everyone is a user-friendly guide on accessibility and design. It is a widely recognized treatise used throughout the country by planning and design professionals, building code officials, educators, and other individuals interested in providing designs that work well for all people.

The foundation for the book was laid in the 1990s when Professor Osterberg co-directed ISU’s campus-wide ADA assessment and recognized the need foran easy-to-understand reference guide. With the support of ISU’s Facilities Planning and Management and the assistance of Donna Kain, who was completing a PhD.in Rhetoric and Communication at the time, Professor Osterberg led an interdisciplinary team of ISU students. The team extensively researched accessibility issues, government documents and other sources to fully understand dimensional requirements, accessibility issues, and the needs of users. Access for Everyone was first published in 2002 and a revised and expanded edition was published in 2005.

The third edition of Access for Everyone contains over 1200 references to ADASAD requirements including:

• 700+ references to requirements that have not changed (requirements that are the same in the original ADAAG and the 2010 ADASAD)
• 400+ references to new 2010 ADASAD requirements (that were not in the original ADAAG)
• 30+ references to requirements that are now more restrictive in the 2010 ADASAD than they were in the original ADAAG
• 30+ references to requirements that are now less restrictive in the 2010 ADASAD than they were in the original ADAAG
• 400+ accessibility and safety recommendations (by Arvid Osterberg)

About the author...

Dr. Arvid E. Osterberg
is a licensed architect and Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University, where he teaches and conducts research in the areas of safety, accessibility, historic preservation, and design.

He also conducts building assessments, consults on safety and accessibility issues, and serves as expert witness for attorneys.