WEBVTT 00:00:03.237 --> 00:00:06.228 So, stepping down out of the bus, 00:00:06.228 --> 00:00:08.220 I headed back to the corner 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:11.454 to head west en route to a braille training session. 00:00:11.454 --> 00:00:13.594 It was the winter of 2009, 00:00:13.594 --> 00:00:15.924 and I had been blind for about a year. 00:00:15.924 --> 00:00:17.980 Things were going pretty well. 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:19.886 Safely reaching the other side, 00:00:19.886 --> 00:00:21.641 I turned to the left, 00:00:21.641 --> 00:00:24.029 pushed the auto-button for the audible pedestrian signal, 00:00:24.029 --> 00:00:25.998 and waited my turn. 00:00:25.998 --> 00:00:27.950 As it went off, I took off 00:00:27.950 --> 00:00:29.854 and safely go to the other side. 00:00:29.854 --> 00:00:31.810 Stepping on to the sidewalk, 00:00:31.810 --> 00:00:34.227 I then heard the sound of a steel chair 00:00:34.227 --> 00:00:38.599 slide across the concrete sidewalk in front of me. 00:00:38.599 --> 00:00:40.469 I know there's a cafe on the corner, 00:00:40.469 --> 00:00:42.269 and they have chairs out in front, 00:00:42.269 --> 00:00:43.943 so I just adjusted to the left 00:00:43.943 --> 00:00:45.664 to get closer to the street. 00:00:45.664 --> 00:00:49.215 As I did, so slid the chair. 00:00:49.215 --> 00:00:51.109 I just figured I'd made a mistake, 00:00:51.109 --> 00:00:52.976 and went back to the right, 00:00:52.976 --> 00:00:56.517 and so slid the chair in perfect synchronicity. 00:00:56.517 --> 00:00:58.622 Now I was getting a little anxious. 00:00:58.622 --> 00:01:00.557 I went back to the left, 00:01:00.557 --> 00:01:02.246 and so slid the chair, 00:01:02.246 --> 00:01:04.300 blocking my path of travel. 00:01:04.300 --> 00:01:06.733 Now, I was officially freaking out. 00:01:06.733 --> 00:01:08.887 So I yelled, 00:01:08.887 --> 00:01:11.717 "Who the hell's out there? What's going on?" 00:01:11.717 --> 00:01:14.060 Just then, over my shout, 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:17.685 I heard something else, a familiar rattle. 00:01:17.685 --> 00:01:19.362 It sounded familiar, 00:01:19.362 --> 00:01:21.102 and I quickly considered another possibility, 00:01:21.102 --> 00:01:22.925 and I reached out with my left hand, 00:01:22.925 --> 00:01:26.190 as my fingers brushed against something fuzzy, 00:01:26.190 --> 00:01:28.527 and I came across an ear, 00:01:28.527 --> 00:01:33.028 the ear of a dog, perhaps a golden retriever. 00:01:33.028 --> 00:01:35.064 Its leash had been tied to the chair 00:01:35.064 --> 00:01:36.823 as her master went in for coffee, 00:01:36.823 --> 00:01:38.706 and she was just persistent in her efforts 00:01:38.706 --> 00:01:41.860 to greet me, perhaps get a scratch behind the ear. 00:01:41.860 --> 00:01:44.518 Who knows, maybe she was volunteering for service. 00:01:44.518 --> 00:01:46.836 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:46.836 --> 00:01:49.244 But that little story is really about 00:01:49.244 --> 00:01:52.335 the fears and misconceptions that come along 00:01:52.335 --> 00:01:55.362 with the idea of moving through the city 00:01:55.362 --> 00:01:57.087 without sight, 00:01:57.087 --> 00:01:59.603 seemingly oblivious to the environment 00:01:59.603 --> 00:02:02.453 and the people around you. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:02.453 --> 00:02:06.097 So let me step back and set the stage a little bit. 00:02:06.097 --> 00:02:08.976 On St. Patrick's Day of 2008, 00:02:08.976 --> 00:02:11.608 I reported to the hospital for surgery 00:02:11.608 --> 00:02:13.849 to remove a brain tumor. 00:02:13.849 --> 00:02:15.951 The surgery was successful. 00:02:15.951 --> 00:02:19.136 Two days later, my sight started to fail. 00:02:19.136 --> 00:02:22.657 On the third day, it was gone. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:22.657 --> 00:02:24.661 Immediately, I was struck by an incredible sense 00:02:24.661 --> 00:02:28.598 of fear, of confusion, of vulnerability, 00:02:28.598 --> 00:02:31.057 like anybody would. 00:02:31.057 --> 00:02:34.077 But as I had time to stop and think, 00:02:34.077 --> 00:02:35.753 I actually started to realize 00:02:35.753 --> 00:02:38.244 I had a lot to be grateful for. 00:02:38.244 --> 00:02:41.239 In particular, I thought about my dad, 00:02:41.239 --> 00:02:43.314 who had passed away from complications 00:02:43.314 --> 00:02:45.463 from brain surgery. 00:02:45.463 --> 00:02:50.493 He was 36. I was seven at the time. 00:02:50.493 --> 00:02:52.787 So although I had every reason 00:02:52.787 --> 00:02:55.510 to be fearful of what was ahead, 00:02:55.510 --> 00:02:58.019 and had no clue quite what was going to happen, 00:02:58.019 --> 00:02:59.932 I was alive. 00:02:59.932 --> 00:03:02.598 My son still had his dad. 00:03:02.598 --> 00:03:04.500 And besides, it's not like I was the first person 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.329 ever to lose their sight. 00:03:06.329 --> 00:03:08.262 I knew there had to be all sorts of systems 00:03:08.262 --> 00:03:10.350 and techniques and training to have 00:03:10.350 --> 00:03:13.062 to live a full and meaningful, active life 00:03:13.062 --> 00:03:14.913 without sight. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:14.913 --> 00:03:16.936 So by the time I was discharged from the hospital 00:03:16.936 --> 00:03:19.486 a few days later, I left with a mission, 00:03:19.486 --> 00:03:21.771 a mission to get out and get the best training 00:03:21.771 --> 00:03:26.427 as quickly as I could and get on to rebuilding my life. 00:03:26.427 --> 00:03:30.276 Within six months, I had returned to work. 00:03:30.276 --> 00:03:32.507 My training had started. 00:03:32.507 --> 00:03:34.337 I even started riding a tandem bike 00:03:34.337 --> 00:03:36.103 with my old cycling buddies, 00:03:36.103 --> 00:03:38.412 and was commuting to work on my own, 00:03:38.412 --> 00:03:40.964 walking through town and taking the bus. 00:03:40.964 --> 00:03:43.114 It was a lot of hard work. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:43.114 --> 00:03:46.195 But what I didn't anticipate 00:03:46.195 --> 00:03:48.489 through that rapid transition 00:03:48.489 --> 00:03:52.669 was the incredible experience of the juxtaposition 00:03:52.669 --> 00:03:56.316 of my sighted experience up against my unsighted experience 00:03:56.316 --> 00:03:59.022 of the same places and the same people 00:03:59.022 --> 00:04:02.569 within such a short period of time. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:02.569 --> 00:04:04.726 From that came a lot of insights, 00:04:04.726 --> 00:04:06.611 or outsights, as I called them, 00:04:06.611 --> 00:04:09.598 things that I learned since losing my sight. 00:04:09.598 --> 00:04:12.502 These outsights ranged from the trival 00:04:12.502 --> 00:04:14.337 to the profound, 00:04:14.337 --> 00:04:16.798 from the mundane to the humorous. 00:04:16.798 --> 00:04:19.876 As an architect, that stark juxtaposition 00:04:19.876 --> 00:04:22.266 of my sighted and unsighted experience 00:04:22.266 --> 00:04:24.644 of the same places and the same cities 00:04:24.644 --> 00:04:26.564 within such a short period of time 00:04:26.564 --> 00:04:28.724 has given me all sorts of wonderful outsights 00:04:28.724 --> 00:04:31.975 of the city itself. 00:04:31.975 --> 00:04:33.989 Paramount amongst those 00:04:33.989 --> 00:04:35.859 was the realization that, actually, 00:04:35.859 --> 00:04:39.892 cities are fantastic places for the blind. 00:04:39.892 --> 00:04:42.092 And then I was also surprised 00:04:42.092 --> 00:04:45.288 by the city's propensity for kindness and care 00:04:45.288 --> 00:04:48.922 as opposed to indifference or worse. 00:04:48.922 --> 00:04:50.823 And then I started to realize that 00:04:50.823 --> 00:04:52.673 it seemed like the blind seemed to have 00:04:52.673 --> 00:04:55.866 a positive influence on the city itself. 00:04:55.866 --> 00:04:59.535 That was a little curious to me. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:59.535 --> 00:05:02.695 Let me step back and take a look 00:05:02.695 --> 00:05:07.965 at why the city is so good for the blind. 00:05:07.965 --> 00:05:11.602 Inherent with the training for recovery from sight loss 00:05:11.602 --> 00:05:15.427 is learning to rely on all your non-visual senses, 00:05:15.427 --> 00:05:18.653 things that you would otherwise maybe ignore. 00:05:18.653 --> 00:05:21.336 It's like a whole new world of sensory information 00:05:21.336 --> 00:05:23.110 opens up to you. 00:05:23.110 --> 00:05:24.822 I was really struck by the symphony 00:05:24.822 --> 00:05:27.120 of subtle sounds all around me in the city 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:28.813 that you can hear and work with 00:05:28.813 --> 00:05:30.556 to understand where you are, 00:05:30.556 --> 00:05:33.207 how you need to move, and where you need to go. 00:05:33.207 --> 00:05:35.885 Similarly, just through the grip of the cane, 00:05:35.885 --> 00:05:39.369 you can feel contrasting textures in the floor below, 00:05:39.369 --> 00:05:42.294 and over time you build a pattern of where you are 00:05:42.294 --> 00:05:44.050 and where you're headed. 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:46.851 Similarly, just the sun warming one side of your face 00:05:46.851 --> 00:05:48.958 or the wind at your neck 00:05:48.958 --> 00:05:51.025 gives you clues about your alignment 00:05:51.025 --> 00:05:53.513 and your progression through a block 00:05:53.513 --> 00:05:56.955 and your movement through time and space. 00:05:56.955 --> 00:05:59.373 But also, the sense of smell. 00:05:59.373 --> 00:06:01.981 Some districts and cities have their own smell, 00:06:01.981 --> 00:06:04.853 as do places and things around you, 00:06:04.853 --> 00:06:06.814 and if you're lucky, you can even follow your nose 00:06:06.814 --> 00:06:10.197 to that new bakery that you've been looking for. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:10.197 --> 00:06:12.026 All this really surprised me, 00:06:12.026 --> 00:06:14.866 because I started to realize that 00:06:14.866 --> 00:06:17.619 not my eye-sighted experienced 00:06:17.619 --> 00:06:20.053 was so far more multi-sensory 00:06:20.053 --> 00:06:22.618 than my sighted experience ever was. 00:06:22.618 --> 00:06:25.544 What struck me also was how much the city 00:06:25.544 --> 00:06:27.715 was changing around me. 00:06:27.715 --> 00:06:29.651 When you're sighted, 00:06:29.651 --> 00:06:31.469 everybody kind of sticks to themselves, 00:06:31.469 --> 00:06:33.358 minds your own business. 00:06:33.358 --> 00:06:34.672 Lose your sight, though, 00:06:34.672 --> 00:06:37.287 and it's a whole nother story. 00:06:37.287 --> 00:06:39.015 And I don't know who's watching who, 00:06:39.015 --> 00:06:42.132 but I have a suspicion that a lot of people are watching me. 00:06:42.132 --> 00:06:44.539 And I'm not paranoid, but everywhere I go, 00:06:44.539 --> 00:06:47.383 I'm getting all sorts of advice: 00:06:47.383 --> 00:06:50.289 go here, move there, watch out for this. 00:06:50.289 --> 00:06:51.965 A lot of the information is good. 00:06:51.965 --> 00:06:54.343 Some of it's helpful. A lot of it's kind of reversed. 00:06:54.343 --> 00:06:57.759 You've got to figure our what they actually meant. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.420 Some of it's kind of wrong and not helpful. 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:04.645 But it's all good in the grand scheme of things. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:04.645 --> 00:07:06.321 But one time I was in Oakland 00:07:06.321 --> 00:07:09.041 walking along Broadway, and came to a corner. 00:07:09.041 --> 00:07:11.722 I was waiting for an audible pedestrian signal, 00:07:11.722 --> 00:07:14.254 and as it went off, I was just about to step out into the street, 00:07:14.254 --> 00:07:16.225 when all of a sudden, my right hand 00:07:16.225 --> 00:07:18.136 was just gripped by this guy, 00:07:18.136 --> 00:07:20.442 and he yanked me arm and pulled out into the crosswalk 00:07:20.442 --> 00:07:22.144 and was dragging me out across the street, 00:07:22.144 --> 00:07:24.055 speaking to me in Mandarin. 00:07:24.055 --> 00:07:25.820 (Laughter) 00:07:25.820 --> 00:07:29.774 It's like, there was no escape from this man's death grip, 00:07:29.774 --> 00:07:31.636 but he got me safely there. 00:07:31.636 --> 00:07:33.508 What could I do? 00:07:33.508 --> 00:07:35.720 But believe me, there are more polite ways 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:37.816 to offer assistance. 00:07:37.816 --> 00:07:39.569 We don't know you're there, 00:07:39.569 --> 00:07:41.503 so it's kind of nice to say "Hello" first. 00:07:41.503 --> 00:07:43.454 "Would you like some help?" NOTE Paragraph 00:07:43.454 --> 00:07:46.412 But while in Oakland, I've really been struck by 00:07:46.412 --> 00:07:49.080 how much the city of Oakland changed 00:07:49.080 --> 00:07:51.610 as I lost my sight. 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:53.699 I liked it sighted. It was fine. 00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:56.275 It's a perfectly great city. 00:07:56.275 --> 00:07:57.991 But once I lost my sight 00:07:57.991 --> 00:07:59.875 and was walking along Broadway, 00:07:59.875 --> 00:08:02.778 I was blessed every block of the way. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:02.778 --> 00:08:04.718 "Bless you, man." NOTE Paragraph 00:08:04.718 --> 00:08:06.873 "Go for it, brother." NOTE Paragraph 00:08:06.873 --> 00:08:08.745 "God bless you." NOTE Paragraph 00:08:08.745 --> 00:08:10.497 I didn't get that sighted. 00:08:10.497 --> 00:08:12.713 (Laughter) 00:08:12.713 --> 00:08:17.790 And even without sight, I don't get that in San Francisco. 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:21.243 And I know it bothers some of my blind friends, 00:08:21.243 --> 00:08:22.990 it's not just me. 00:08:22.990 --> 00:08:24.869 Often it's thought that 00:08:24.869 --> 00:08:27.937 that's an emotion that comes up out of pity. 00:08:27.937 --> 00:08:30.820 I tend to think that it comes out of our shared humanity, 00:08:30.820 --> 00:08:34.236 out of our togetherness, and I think it's pretty cool. 00:08:34.236 --> 00:08:36.112 In fact, if I'm feeling down, 00:08:36.112 --> 00:08:38.059 I just go to Broadway in downtown Oakland, 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:40.725 I go for a walk, and I feel better like that, 00:08:40.725 --> 00:08:44.040 in no time at all. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:44.040 --> 00:08:46.108 But also that it illustrates how 00:08:46.108 --> 00:08:47.969 disability and blindness 00:08:47.969 --> 00:08:50.098 sort of cuts across ethnic, social, 00:08:50.098 --> 00:08:53.069 racial, economic lines. 00:08:53.069 --> 00:08:57.028 Disability is an equal-opportunity provider. 00:08:57.028 --> 00:08:58.953 Everybody's welcome. 00:08:58.953 --> 00:09:01.959 In fact, I've heard it said in the disability community 00:09:01.959 --> 00:09:04.311 that there are really only two types of people: 00:09:04.311 --> 00:09:06.299 there are those with disabilities, 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:09.854 and there are those that haven't quite found theirs yet. 00:09:09.854 --> 00:09:12.481 It's a different way of thinking about it, 00:09:12.481 --> 00:09:15.036 but I think it's kind of beautiful, 00:09:15.036 --> 00:09:17.598 because it is certainly far more inclusive 00:09:17.598 --> 00:09:19.564 than the us-versus-them 00:09:19.564 --> 00:09:22.210 or the able-versus-the-disabled, 00:09:22.210 --> 00:09:25.099 and it's a lot more honest and respectful 00:09:25.099 --> 00:09:28.002 of the fragility of life. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:28.002 --> 00:09:30.139 So my final takeaway for you is 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:33.931 that not only is the city good for the blind, 00:09:33.931 --> 00:09:37.172 but the city needs us. 00:09:37.172 --> 00:09:39.061 And I'm so sure of that that 00:09:39.061 --> 00:09:41.221 I want to propose to you today 00:09:41.221 --> 00:09:44.491 that the blind be taken as the prototypical city dwellers 00:09:44.491 --> 00:09:47.853 when imagining new and wonderful cities, 00:09:47.853 --> 00:09:49.653 and not the people that are thought about 00:09:49.653 --> 00:09:52.027 after the mold has already been cast. 00:09:52.027 --> 00:09:54.909 It's too late then. 00:09:54.909 --> 00:09:57.923 So if you design a city with the blind in mind, 00:09:57.923 --> 00:10:02.063 you'll have a rich, walkable network of sidewalks 00:10:02.063 --> 00:10:04.821 with a dense array of options and choices 00:10:04.821 --> 00:10:08.208 all available at the street level. 00:10:08.208 --> 00:10:10.529 If you design a city with the blind in mind, 00:10:10.529 --> 00:10:13.635 sidewalks will be predictable and will be generous. 00:10:13.635 --> 00:10:15.925 The space between buildings will be well-balanced 00:10:15.925 --> 00:10:19.487 between people and cars. 00:10:19.487 --> 00:10:23.130 In fact, cars, who needs them? 00:10:23.130 --> 00:10:26.645 If you're blind, you don't drive. (Laughter) 00:10:26.645 --> 00:10:30.061 They don't like it when you drive. (Laughter) 00:10:30.061 --> 00:10:32.625 If you design a city with the blind in mind, 00:10:32.625 --> 00:10:35.407 you design a city with a robust, 00:10:35.407 --> 00:10:38.561 accessible, well-connected mass transit system 00:10:38.561 --> 00:10:40.686 that connects all parts of the city 00:10:40.686 --> 00:10:43.052 and the region all around. 00:10:43.052 --> 00:10:45.755 If you design a city with the blind in mind, 00:10:45.755 --> 00:10:48.543 there'll be jobs, lots of jobs. 00:10:48.543 --> 00:10:50.305 Blind people want to work too. 00:10:50.305 --> 00:10:52.344 They want to earn a living. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:52.344 --> 00:10:55.145 So, in designing a city for the blind, 00:10:55.145 --> 00:10:57.554 I hope you start to realize 00:10:57.554 --> 00:11:00.006 that it actually would be a more inclusive, 00:11:00.006 --> 00:11:03.621 a more equitable, a more just city for all. 00:11:03.621 --> 00:11:05.843 And based on my prior sighted experience, 00:11:05.843 --> 00:11:07.758 it sounds like a pretty cool city, 00:11:07.758 --> 00:11:11.213 whether you're blind, whether you have a disability, 00:11:11.213 --> 00:11:13.758 or you haven't quite found yours yet. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:13.758 --> 00:11:16.185 So thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:16.185 --> 00:11:20.185 (Applause)