Inclusiveness

No self-interest here.  Well maybe a little.  Actually probably a lot.
Ross W. shared a post recently about old buildings and inclusiveness.  I have been thinking about this sort of stuff a lot lately.  It seems to me that anything that is built today should be able to be used by as many as possible.
The house we are in at the moment was obviously owned at some stage by someone who needed a railing in the shower.  Having one there is really great for everyone.  I saw lifts going into buildings where I used to work.  That way everyone could access everywhere.  Certainly lifts are expensive and expensive to run.
My problem is that, what is built, should be able to be used by everyone and not just some.  Both the disabled and the elderly benefit from lifts.  There was a train station that had no lift, and I really wondered how my mum would get on with only the stairs.
Hindsight is a wonderful teacher.  I recently had a bathroom redone in a place of ours.  Like almost all bathrooms, the shower recess had a lip.  For most folk that is not a problem.  However for some it is.  In the hospital I saw shower recesses without one.  They simply had a decline to the drain.  Personally I think all shower recesses should be like that.  Then everyone can use them.
Maybe it has already been invented, but I am waiting for someone to invent stick on railings that can take a humans weight.  There are stick on shelves for the shower to house shampoo etc.  To me they could be stuck up when needed and discarded when not.  Even if that is not adopted, it seems to me every house should be built with railings, so it is good for everyone.
Whatever way it is done, it seems to me railings should be included in all new houses.  At the moment adjustments need to be made for altered circumstances.  To me, building it differently from the start would mean alterations would not need to be made.
It would definitely make the building more expensive but I see it like most things – the more there is, are the cheaper they become. It seems that, apart from the occasional glitch, houses appreciate in value anyway.  It is one of the many things I don’t get, but more often than not, the older a house becomes the more it is worth.
I am very much against someone saying something can’t be done, when they should be saying I don’t want to do it.  I guess it will come down to enlightened self-interest.  When there is a buck to be made, it seems anything is possible.  Doing the right thing, because it is the right thing to do, so often seems to not be enough.