Beyond the Spillover: Re-centering Disability in the Curb-Cut Effect

Hello all,

This week's post is focused on the curb-cut effect, defined by B. Reid from various sources in chapter 8 of the book Feminist Cyberlaw (M. Jones and A. Levendowski, 2024) as "an oft-observed phenomenon that occurs when technology designed to dismantle barriers to the accessibility of society for disabled people affords positive benefits - positive externalities or spillovers in economic terms- for nondisabled people." The expressed concern about this is that we can grow to focus on the spillover effects and only prioritize or advance those technologies that benefit everyone.

The chapter argues that there is a real danger of harm to and erasure of the exact needs of disabled people when we rely on the power of the curb-cut effect argument when making accessibility design decisions.

The chapter provides several examples, from actual sidewalk curb-cuts that don't have level transitions or are too steep for actual wheelchair users, to image alt tags used only for the most simplified descriptions, to video captions that fail to describe video scenes without any sound, to audio descriptions that fail to include "visible details about the race, ethnicity, and skin color of on-screen characters" where critical concerns for disabled people are not prioritized. This specific chapter is also referenced in the brief Curb-cut effect wikipedia article.

As we breathe out sighs of either relief or exasperation at the extension to 2027 of the ADA Title II compliance requirements on digital accessibility, I hope that some of us can use this time to assess whether our efforts are paying enough attention to the precise needs of the people we want to serve. Knowing SUNY as I do, I expect that someone has already been thinking that exact thing. As our Plattsburgh EIT Officer John Locke wrote:

"This is not a reprieve from our responsibility to ensure accessibility. Our obligation to provide accessible programs, services, and activities remains unchanged under the ADA, as well as under New York State law and federal regulations tied to funding (including HHS requirements with a compliance date of May 11, 2026). Instead, this extension should be viewed as an opportunity: time to close remaining gaps, strengthen our practices, and continue building the skills needed to create accessible content from the start."

I agree with John!

I'd love to hear more about how our accessibility efforts are mitigating any of the negative impacts of the "curb-cut effect."

All the best,
Holly