More than 40% of U.S. adults either have a disability or care for someone who does, based on national data from the CDC and U.S. Census Bureau. This underscores how deeply disability shapes every community. Yet many parks remain inaccessible, and even new ones often meet only minimum ADA standards, leaving too many people excluded from safe, meaningful outdoor experiences.
Park equity begins with disability‑inclusion. To help bridge the gap between basic compliance and true belonging, Houston Parks Board created the Disability‑Inclusive Parks, Trails, and Playgrounds Best Practices Guide, developed with disability advocates, adaptive recreation experts, and design professionals. The guide offers practical approaches for embedding inclusion throughout planning, design, implementation, and maintenance.
In this session, contributors with lived experience and technical expertise will share insights from the guide and issue a call to action: work with us to build parks and trails where people of all abilities can participate fully, confidently, and with dignity.
