Imagine being out on your own without vision, hearing, or mobility. Now think about the places you live, the cities you travel. What would be the most difficult environment to navigate?

This was the opening question asked at a recent gathering in Manhattan of users and designers of assistive technology. "The woods," replied a man with a seeing-eye dog. "The suburbs" said another, in a wheelchair. Yet among the non-disabled, the common assumption was exactly the opposite: Manhattan. A large city with pedestrian congestion, constant activity, construction, excessive noise, and a strained transportation infrastructure – we assumed this would be terrifying to confront. Instead, Manhattan was upheld as a model for accessible environments. It offers a uniform structure in its grid and architecture, constant feedback from sound and texture, and common patterns of behavior. These three key features make the urban landscape more accessible to the disabled community.

Yet accessibility of the online space lags far behind that of the physical world. The web should not be the woods, but it is for many users with disabilities. The keyboard-mouse-monitor paradigm is well established in our web design framework – yet for users without the mastery of combined visual, motor, and cognitive skills, information access quickly breaks down. Many sites cannot be clearly read by those with assistive technologies – specialized hardware and software devices that translate information into alternate or enhanced sensory modes for those with disabilities.

Legislative developments inspired greater accessibility in the physical world, when equal rights cases led to the mandatory construction of ramps, elevators, and other architectural elements. A similar movement is on the horizon for the digital space. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and human rights law are advancing in parallel to clear a path out of the woods of the early Internet.

It is time that we make the online space accessible to all. When designers provide the right foundation for online information, the structure, feedback, and patterns of this content can be easily recognized and transmitted to users with disabilities.