Beyond Code: Best Practices for Accessible Vertical Transportation

Elevators are critical infrastructure too often designed to code minimums instead of real people’s needs. This session reframes vertical transportation as a human-centered design challenge and demonstrates how smart elevator technologies and thoughtful cab design improve access for wheelchair users, aging workers, parents with strollers, people with invisible disabilities, and other everyday users. Combining practitioner expertise and lived experience, the presenter will walk through project case studies and emerging solutions such as destination dispatch, touchless interfaces, and thoughtfully designed cabs to help attendees move beyond compliance toward inclusive, future-ready vertical mobility.Elevators are critical infrastructure too often designed to code minimums instead of real people’s needs. This session reframes vertical transportation as a human-centered design challenge and demonstrates how smart elevator technologies and thoughtful cab design improve access for wheelchair users, aging workers, parents with strollers, people with invisible disabilities, and other everyday users. Combining practitioner expertise and lived experience, the presenter will walk through project case studies and emerging solutions such as destination dispatch, touchless interfaces, and thoughtfully designed cabs to help attendees move beyond compliance toward inclusive, future-ready vertical mobility.