If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
This website and project are dedicated to ensuring that no person or group needs to supply their own chair to be included in making the decisions that profoundly impact their ability to live independent and productive lives. On these pages you will find resources to help communities plan, conduct, evaluate, and sustain inclusive planning programs to improve local transit services.
As the participants in the process work together, they learn from each other and create solutions based on this sharing.
Transit programs designed by those using the service will be more sensitive to their needs.
Groups and individuals involved in the design of a project will become advocates for the project as it moves to implementation and beyond.
In addition to improving the transit program, the process of inclusive planning builds the knowledge and skills of participants that they can take into other aspects of community building.
Federal statutes and guidelines have long required public participation in planning transit projects. Inclusive planning enables significant involvement of impacted communities. While these efforts allow comment on specific projects, many transit agencies are going beyond traditional public meetings to embrace a more inclusive approach and flexible strategies to support the planning process.
For persons with disabilities, involvement in the transportation planning process is central to full inclusion in community life. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which became law in 1990, was the first step to ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life. Public transportation facilities and service requirements are an important part of the promise of the ADA.
The Older Americans Act, passed in 1965, and it’s subsequent amendments have created a federally-mandated, state and local aging network that is comprised of the federal Administration on Aging, State Units on Aging, and local Area Agencies on Aging (known as AAAs). Services provided by AAAs are determined by federal law, but are guided by a planning process that emphasizes community engagement to determine the most important needs of older adults in each community.
