The first step differs if one is talking about A.D.A verses Universal Design in that A.D.A sets out tomodify the built environment to make it accessible for people with disabilities while Universal Design is more inclusive and sets out to make all spaces inherently, and even possibly intuativly, accessible for all users regardless of age, mobility, visual, auditory or mental ability etc.

True your/our first concern must be compliance with ADA guidelines and laws. But ADA guidelines are really if you will the minimums of, or as you put it the “first step” towards universal design which is a more holistic/wellness way of thinking about not only the built environment but pretty much anything we use or interact with.

The ideal is to design for different situations, built places, products and even services that are better able to serve a wide range of people…and hopefully ALL people! The core assumption being that a design that is easier for someone with a disability will be also easier for everybody.

Here is a useful link for ADA guidelines for buildings & facilities you might find handy :

http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm

Finally, try to think of universal design as not only the right thing to do, but how it also maybe the trend of what consumers will expect as the number of Boomers grows making it not from a business prospective also the smart thing to do.

Regarding the potential for taking on aging in place as a health care strategy for a state, that’s exactly what I think it needs to be. Perhaps you know which country, but there is SOME country in Northern Europe that, as a national healthcare strategy, assists people in aging in their homes no matter what their health issues (even dementia) by bringing all the services to them. I read it in an article that I didn’t keep and am now desperately trying to figure out which country it is… I think that living in a community such as assisted living or a nursing home has the potential for healthier socialization for people, but that’s about where it ends.

Second, I am an advocate for planning for one’s future, and recommend that people create an “aging will” similar to a living will, for what they want to have happen as they age. The aging will, created in saner times and in partnership with family members, is what they and the family refer back to if a crisis happens and decisions such as where to live need to be made.

Second