Safer Home Stairways Application of Public Health Policies and Research Findings to the Development of Design Codes in the Usa

In an admittedly personal professional perspective, roughly twelve months of events, beginning July 2001, are discussed in terms of the events' historic impact on environmental design of home stairways. Considerations of public health and ergonomics permeated these events, many of which could profoundly affect stairway usability and safety, especially at a time of increased concern about the personal, social and economic benefits of aging in place facilitated through Universal Design.