"Cut into the curb..."

Several years ago (and while living in a different city), I participated in a leadership program sponsored by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce called "Leadership Cincinnati" (of course, I was part of the best class, Class 42).  It was a great opportunity to meet other executives from a variety of different organizations in the area.  The program also helped me to gain a better appreciation for some of the assets in our local community, as well as some of the region's unique challenges.  At our graduation, one of the sponsors of the program introduced a concept that I had not heard before, called the "Curb Cut Effect".

You probably know what a curb cut is, as they are now ubiquitous in most cities.  However, there was a time when they weren't so common.  Prior to the 1970's, most curbs throughout the United States featured a drop-off that made it very difficult, if not impossible, for people with physical disabilities or mobility problems to cross the street or move between city blocks.  The first curb cuts were installed in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1945, largely in response to advocacy work by returning disabled World War II veterans, especially Jack Fisher, a Navy veteran and lawyer.

Fisher's successful advocacy work inspired many others to call for the installation of curb cuts in other cities.  Two Berkeley students, Ed Roberts (a survivor of childhood polio) and Michael Pachovas (who became paralyzed following a spinal cord injury resulting from an accident that occurred while he was a Peace Corps volunteer) were part of an activist movement that pressed city officials to install curb cuts so that Berkeley students with physical disabilities could get around campus easier.  The city installed the first curb cut on Telegraph Avenue in 1972, which would become "the slab of concrete heard 'round the world".  Several more U.S. cities would install curb cuts in the years that followed, and today they are a ubiquitous feature on most city streets across the country.

The civil rights advocate Angela Glover Blackwell pointed out in her article "The Curb-Cut Effect" that everyone, not just individuals with physical disabilities, has benefited from the installation of curb cuts.  Whether if you are a parent pushing a stroller, a worker pushing a heavy cart, or a business traveler wheeling your luggage around, you have likely appreciated how curb cuts make it easier to cross an intersection.  As a matter of fact, curb cuts make it a lot easier for all of us to cross the street!  For example, one study conducted at a Sarasota, Florida shopping mall noted that nine out of ten otherwise "unencumbered" pedestrians went out of their way to use a curb cut.  In other words, what had been originally designed specifically for one target population, those individuals with a physical disability, actually made life better for the general population as a whole.  

Economists would call it a positive externality.  In the military, we used to call it a force multiplier.  In this particular context, it is known as the curb cut effect.  John F. Kennedy once claimed that "a rising tide lifts all boats" (the phrase is often attributed to him because he frequently used it, however the exact origin likely predates Kennedy and is not known for certain).  What it means, and there are numerous examples, is that policies and investments designed to achieve equity frequently benefit more than just the target population - they benefit all of us!  As Angela Glover Blackwell said, "Cut into the curb, and we create a path forward for everyone."