What is the difference between accessibility and adaptability in housing design?

• A. Adaptability refers to the ability to modify a unit in the future to accommodate changing needs.
• B. Accessibility concerns only common areas.
• C. Accessibility means design features that make a unit usable by people with disabilities.
• D. Accessibility and adaptability are the same.

Answer: (C)

Accessibility focuses on design features that make a home usable by people with disabilities today. Adaptability is about how easily a home can be modified in the future to accommodate changing needs. So, accessibility describes current usability, while adaptability describes potential future changes. This is why the best description of accessibility is that it means design features that make a unit usable by people with disabilities, encompassing practical elements like step-free entries, wide doorways, reachable controls, and accessible bathroom layouts. The option that accessibility concerns only common areas is too limited, since accessibility applies throughout the unit and its accessible routes. The option claiming they are the same is incorrect because they describe different concepts—current usability versus future modify-ability. While adaptability correctly explains the future-modification idea, it does not define accessibility.