Public organizations such as municipal governments, or colleges and universities can be guided by policy to enact universal design in their building codes. Some examples of Universal Design Policy have been found below:
- City of Winnipeg: https://winnipeg.ca/ppd/planning/pdf_folder/EPC_UnivDesign.pdf
- Red Deer College: https://rdc.ab.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/43160/universal-design-policy.pdf
Private institutions, such as shopping malls or restaurants, are not at the discretion of this public policy, and will need to come to terms with generating universal design in their own means. I can see this as problematic as not all buildings which the public interacts with (private or public) will be fully accessible. I hypothesize that an inaccessible design could lead older adults to remain isolated from venturing out of their homes due to fear. The lack of universal design may be contributing to a worsened state of mental health, which is reason enough for all private and public institutions to adopt universal design policy.
Mental Health Policy for Older Adults 