Professor Ibrahim Jammal, AICP, is director of the center. The Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access is dedicated to improving the design of environments and products by making them more usable, safe and appealing to people with a wide range of abilities, throughout their life spans. Originally based on the concepts of accessible or barrier-free design and normalization, the center's work has expanded to embrace the concept of universal design, or design of places and products that are usable by and desirable to a broad range of people, including people with disabilities and other often overlooked groups. To further theses agendas, IDEA provides resources and technical expertise in architecture, product design, facilities management and the social and behavioral sciences. The center is active in basic and applied research, design development, community service, and education.
Current programs focus on home modifications, functional assessment, and universal design.
Dr. Edward Steinfeld is director of the center. Considered a major force for change in Western New York, the center's research activities and community and economic development projects provide students with many opportunities to work with faculty members and practitioners. Students also have access to a variety of public, private, and nonprofit agencies, such as the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, the UB Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth, the Buffalo Urban League, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the University Community Initiatives, the Office of Urban Initiatives, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, and many other groups and organizations across Western New York. In addition, students have the opportunity to work directly with inner-city residents and community activists on different community and economic development projects. The Urban Design Project is a teaching resource in the School of Architecture and Planning that focuses on issues of community development and urban revitalization while fostering intellectual exploration of architecture and planning.