October 19th and 20th University Plaza Hotel Springfield, MO The term "Universal Design" was coined by Ron Mace, an architect and educator at North Carolina State University. In his words, "Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design."

The staff at the Center for Universal Design (founded by Mace) at NCSU are continuing the work of influencing the development of knowledge about universal design on the national and international levels. As noted by the Center, "The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities." The Senior Project Manager of the Center for Universal Design, Richard Duncan, will be presenting on Trends in Universal Design, as well as Marketability and Affordability of Universal Design, at this year's Missouri Universal Design Housing Conference in Springfield. Other topics to be covered at this conference include interior design, products, policy and retrofitting. See attached agenda "UDAgenda06.pdf" for more information. Registration for the day and a half conference is only $60--