Background: Facing the issue of an aging society as well as the question of amendments to the Guidelines for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, there is a need for Taiwan to learn from the accessibility system of the United States. Purposes: As the Guidelines for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities of Taiwan is referred to in the early version of the ＂Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Standards for Accessible Design＂, this study examines principles discernible through the evolution of such Act, along with its latest Standards, which are worth grasping. Methods: This study brought together the spirit of the legislation, and the structure and content of the design standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act to conduct an analysis.. Results: The Americans with Disabilities Act, with a fundamental spirit of respect for human rights, originated from pension measures for U.S. disabled veterans and their families, which emphasizes equal opportunity, ensuring the right of the disabled to use public buildings. The applicable scope of such standards of accessible design are divided into state and local government agencies and new or altered public or special business facilities, in which the concepts of the accessible path priority and the avoidance of financial burden caused by the improvement of accessibility as well as the accessibility guidelines focusing on communication facilities, disaster prevention, non-fixed and leisure facilities are proposed. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: The improvement by the U.S. of its building accessibility environment through setting out respective bills for residential and public buildings as well as its legislative spirit, attention to residents' interests, and characteristics of the design criteria presented in this study are worthy of our country's consideration.