Promoting Basic Accessibility in the Home

Visitability legislation, which requires minimum accessibility in single-family homes, is an unprecedented advancement in disability policy that began with the passage of an Atlanta ordinance in 1992 and has spread to other jurisdictions. Based on the diffusion of innovation model (Gray, 1973), our study used interviews, news articles, and analyses of legislation to examine the spread of the visitability concept, the patterns of diffusion, the opposition's main concerns, and the mechanisms by which advocates overcame opposition and facilitated passage. Results indicated that a policy entrepreneur (Kingdon, 1995) was largely responsible for the consequent spread of visitability across cities and states in a horizontal pattern of diffusion. Opponents from the building industry were largely concerned about added cost, which forced advocates to employ education and negotiation tactics. Despite considerable controversy, proponents' success provides other advocates with lessons on how to ensure a more widespread impact on U.S. housing stock.