#accessible solarpunk

If a better future isn't for everyone, then it's not a better future. Therefore, solarpunk have to be accessible. If it's not possible, solarpunk strives for accessibility.

It may be hard to imagine accessible infrastructure while living in a place deprived of it. For some, it may be hard to imagine infrastructure being both accessible and beautful, particularly if only instances when accessibility is brought to attention are places that were originally inaccessible and fixing methods are visibly jarring. It's understandable: imagination, like everything else, is trained. But solarpunk is, if nothing else, at least an exercise in imagination.

Let's talk about some ways to train this imagination.

Urban activism / Accessibility activism

Self-advocating accessibility activists are marvelous invaluable source of mental imagery. Their goal is literally to explain what they need, how it looks like and why is it important. (And then to finally got what they need.)

They can provide you not only with images of accessible infrastructure in modern urban architecture, but also with mental checklists allowing to assess accessibility of whatever environment.

Traditional architecture of extreme environments

Maybe you aren't interested in modern urban architecture and want to explore something different, like ways of living integrated into extreme environment. Understandable, but it's not a reason for them to be inaccessible.

It's generally a good idea to check traditional architecture of people who lived in such environment for centuries. With few caveats tho:

It should go without mentioning, but never believe Hollywood about how space works and how people are living. It's not even their fault most of the time: cinematography is about creating story and a feeling, while accessibility is often about an avalanche of interconnected details.

Cross-check perspective, zoom in and out, compare wide panoramic views and close shots. Most popular photos are usually those with most dramatic and unusual proportions, which isn't necessarily reflected in experience of daily life in those settlements. For example: some of most widespread photos of Pueblo settlement suggest a high wall of houses built almost vertically on each other, with ladder as primary communication route and no stairs in the sight. In other views, they seems much more accessible - but those photos, as less scenic, are also less widespread.

Check type of construction, who uses it, how often and for what activities. If roof of the house is defacto daily room, it should be safe for elderly and little children to use. If there's only a narrow ladder to the roof, you may discover it was primarily used as a drying place for fruits and reed, and needed to be accessed once a week at most. Routes to the distant foraging spot used at a certain time at year needs different level of accessibility than routes between neighbouring houses, and that's okay. But it would be weird to use them as full replacements.

Pay attention to details.

Temporary disability

Having a broken arm with a generally able body is different than having a broken arm with a previously chronically ill body, and both of them are different than just having one arm, and all of them are different from having to deal with really heavy package. But they have some similarities.