A Single Step Can Exclude a Neighbor: Rethinking Housing This April

Imagine you have a son or daughter who uses a wheelchair, and you move into a newly built neighborhood—a fresh subdivision with sidewalks, parks, and families just settling in. Your child makes friends next door. A birthday party invitation comes. But the question is: will they be able to get inside? Will they be able to visit independently, or will every social interaction require planning, lifting, and assistance?

Now imagine a different scenario. You’ve lived in your home for years. You know your neighbors. You’ve built equity. It’s your place—your stability. Then an accident or health change means you begin using a wheelchair. Suddenly, the home that once worked perfectly no longer does. A step at the entrance becomes a barrier. Narrow doorways limit access. Basic daily routines become difficult or impossible.

The question becomes: can you stay in your own home?

For tens of thousands of Idahoans with mobility challenges, these are not hypothetical situations. They are everyday realities. We are still building neighborhoods—and homes—that exclude people by design. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

April is Housing Month—a time to think not just about housing supply and affordability, but about how our homes shape inclusion. One practical, proven solution is visitability.

Visitability means incorporating a few simple features into new single-family homes: a zero-step entrance, wider doorways, and a bathroom on the main floor. These are not expensive or complex changes when included during construction, but they make a profound difference. They allow people with mobility challenges to enter a home, move through basic spaces, and participate in everyday life.

Too often, accessibility is treated as an afterthought—something added later at great cost, or not at all. Visitability flips that model. By building homes right the first time, we reduce the need for expensive retrofits and make homeownership more affordable over time.

More importantly, visitable homes create visitable neighborhoods. They allow children to play together, neighbors to gather, and families to stay connected. They support aging in place and ensure that a temporary injury or long-term disability doesn’t mean losing your home or your community.

Housing Month is also a call to action. If you know a builder, developer, or architect, start the conversation. Ask if they are incorporating visitability into their designs. If new subdivisions are being planned, encourage those leading the projects to include these features from the beginning. Developers and builders make decisions that shape our communities for generations—often a century or more. They have the power to redefine what “standard” housing looks like.

If you know of a builder or developer who wants to talk about incorporating visitability into the homes they design and construct, let us know. Email us at info@lincidaho.org or call (208) 336-3335.

We don’t currently build neighborhoods that work for everyone. But we can. And it starts with expecting more from the homes—and communities—we create.

LINC has three offices to serve you. www.lincidaho.org

1182 Eastland Drive North Suite C
Twin Falls ID 83301
(208) 733-1712 VOICE
(208) 733-7711 TDD

1878 West Overland Road
Boise ID 83705
(208) 336-3335 VOICE
(208) 336-3335 TDD
(208) 384-5037 FAX

703 S. Kimball Ave
Caldwell ID 83605
(208) 454-5511 VOICE
(208) 454-5511 TDD
(208) 454-5515 FAX