Towards a Visitable Housing Policy in Fredericton

“VisitAble housing” employs three main design features in newly built homes: a zero-step entryway; 32″ (813 mm) wide doorways and hallways; and an accessible bathroom. The goal of this project was to explore the potential for a VisitAble housing policy in Fredericton; a promising concept, but has had limited uptake in Canada. Statistics Canada data show that New Brunswick (NB) has among the highest disability rates in Canada (23%), but has the lowest rate of individuals living in a home with an accessible entrance (17%). Google Maps Street View and GeoNB were used to determine the number of zero step and ramped entrances to single-family and garden homes (as a proxy for VisitAbility) among a sample of 6 of 25 residential Dissemination Areas (DA) in Fredericton. There were 34 of 1447 homes (2.3%) that had an accessible entrance. A survey was distributed to nine Fredericton-area home builders (n = 4 responses) asking about the prevalence, demand, and the feasibility of VisitAble housing in the Fredericton house building industry. While a very small sample, the consistency of builder responses suggest they are building homes with accessible features at a rate commensurate with their interpretation of the demand and have concerns similar to those expressed in previous CMHC research. Low rates of accessible home entrances in NB suggest other provinces are more effective in the development of strategies that result in an outcome of more accessible homes. Opportunities exist to explore more prescriptive policy solutions to support VisitAble home development in NB.