When I was 47, I helped established a nonprofit (Hearth, Feb 16) and dove into universal design. And once we got into University Neighborhood Apartments (UNA, Feb 17), I spent much time contemplating that structure.

UNA was always a tight-space puzzle. We were replacing an old paint store on University Avenue with 27 affordable apartments. We backed up to a concerned lovely neighborhood so the roof lines had to be low at that boundary and staggered, and we butted up against retail establishments (and one tucked-back little house) on the sides. We went as close to the property lines as permitted, but of course set-backs were required. There was simply no room to ramp the building; we had to make due with stairs and an elevator.

Which got me to thinking: what if we ramped that rectangular building on the outside? What if we used the set-back area that is above the street level to hold a sweetly sloping pathway around the residential floors of the building?

I think the idea is compelling. The biggest challenge would be window placement.

It then occurred to me that there could be contention on the ramp. Possible disagreements about speed and right of way between, say, kids with skateboards and retirees with walkers. That’s okay, I responded to myself; that’s what community is about, settling the matters that arise between participants.

In fact, I then recalled the days in the early 90s when Danny was so into video games. One of the several I enjoyed seeing was SimCity, a quasi-educational program of urban planning that was eyecatching because of the insect-like busyness of its streets. I now want to build a protective but transparent wall around the ramp. It will keep residents from falling, if any tussle should get out of hand. More: it will give outsiders a show, a kinetic sculpture of the life in the place.