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Impact of lived experiences of people with disabilities in the built environment in South Africa

McKINNEY, Victor
AMOSUN, Seyi L.
August 2020

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Background: In spite of legislations and policies to ensure an inclusive society in South Africa for the accommodation of people with disabilities, there are reports that they still struggle to move freely within society.

 

Objectives: As part of a larger qualitative exploratory study on the preparation of undergraduate civil engineering students in a local university to contribute to the development of an inclusive society, this article seeks to understand the impact of the lived experiences of people with disabilities in their interaction with the built environment.

 

Method: Four persons with disabilities, considered to be knowledgeable about South African legislations relating to disability, were purposely selected to each share one specific experience whilst interacting with the built environment. The transcribed texts of the interviews were analysed by using the phenomenological–hermeneutic method.

 

Results: The participants exhibited strong desires to participate in society. However, the sense of loss of control and independence as they encountered challenges in the built environment changed the euphoria to disempowerment, rejection, anger and despondency. In spite of their experiences, participants expressed a commitment towards overcoming the challenges encountered in the broader interest of people with disabilities.

 

Conclusion: A deeper understanding of the impact of the experiences of people with disabilities when they participate within the built environment in South Africa revealed a broad spectrum of negative emotions, which may impact the quality of life and well-being of the participants.

 

 

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020

Required to be creative. Everyday ways for dealing with inaccessibility

WÄSTERFORS, David
2020

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Today’s society promises that people with disabilities can access anything, but in practice there are numerous obstacles, and the ways in which people deal with them can be easily missed or taken for granted by policy makers. This article draws on a project in which researchers ‘go along’ people with disabilities in Sweden who demonstrate and recount accessibility troubles in urban and digital settings. They display a set of mundane methods for managing inaccessibility: (a) using others, (b) making deals and establishing routines, (c) mimicking or piggybacking conventions, (d) debunking others’ accounts and performing local politics. The employment of these shared but tailored methods shows the difficulties to be accepted that people with disabilities still face, as well as the wide-ranging tension that exists between the grand rhetoric of inclusion and modest results. The tension implies that people with disabilities are required to be creative.

  • Declarations and policies often say that people with disabilities should have access to anything, but in practice this is not the case.
  • This study investigates what people with disabilities actually do when they have trouble accessing various places or resources. The results show their common and practical ways, and these ways are often taken for granted, overlapping, and combined.
  • People with disabilities ask others to support them when they face troubles to access places or resources, they make deals with important actors and they develop routines. They also observe, imitate and follow others’ actions, to pick out precisely those ways that suit their needs.
  • When people with disabilities find their ways in today’s society they also act with words. They argue against other people’s excuses or justifications for not providing access.
  • The study has found a lot of frustration among people with disabilities who get blocked, excluded or delayed. This gives them motives to engage in politics.

Disability, mobility and transport in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A thematic review

KETT, Maria
COLE, Ellie
TURNER, Jeff
January 2020

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This paper discusses issues affecting the transport and mobility needs of people with disabilities in middle- and low-income countries and how disability intersects with a range of other factors to impact on transport needs, use and engagement. The paper is intended to stimulate discussion and identify areas for further research, and identifies a number of key issues that are salient to discussions around equitable and inclusive transport provision, including patterns of transport use, behaviour and experiences, solutions and policy directions, measuring access and inclusion, policies and intersectionality. The paper also identifies gaps in knowledge and provision, barriers to addressing these gaps, and some possible solutions to overcoming these barriers. These include shifting the focus from access to inclusion, reconceptualising how ‘special’ transport might be provided, and most importantly listening to the voices and experiences of adults and children with disabilities. Despite lack of transport often being cited as a reason for lack of inclusion of people with disabilities, there is surprisingly little evidence which either quantifies this or translates what this lack of access means to people with disabilities in their daily lives in low- and middle-income countries.

 

Sustainability 2020, 12(2), 589

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020589

Barriers and Facilitators for Wheelchair Users in Bangladesh: A Participatory Action Research Project

ALDERSEY, Heather
QUADIR, Mohammad Morshedul
AKTER, Soniya
MOZUMDER, Rabiul Hossain
NAZNEEN, Nayma
NURI, Reshma Parvin
2018

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Purpose: People who use wheelchairs face a range of physical, social, and economic barriers to regular participation in their communities. These barriers may be more acute in countries such as Bangladesh which are affected by poverty and often lack the physical infrastructure or resources necessary to create inclusive or accessible environments. This research aimed to identify: (a) the barriers and facilitators to accessibility faced by wheelchair users in Bangladesh; (b) how these barriers affect the inclusion of wheelchair users in Bangladeshi society; and (c) what could be done to improve accessibility and inclusion for wheelchair users in Bangladesh.

 

Methods:  This participatory action research (PAR) project used Photovoice and semi-structured interviews to identify barriers and facilitators to accessibility for people who use wheelchairs in Bangladesh.

 

Results: Participants mentioned a number of barriers in public spaces, such as roads, missing or inadequate ramps, inaccessible restrooms, and negative attitudes. There were also participants who had made their home environments more accessible with accommodations such as ramps, arrangement of space, and low countertops/work spaces. Women wheelchair users seemed to face greater barriers to access, as compared to men, in a range of community spaces and activities. Participants’ recommendations for improvement targeted government stakeholders and included greater focus on road infrastructure, particularly during flooding in the rainy season, and modifications to the public transportation system.

 

Conclusion: A key goal of the study was to identify barriers and facilitators, and use the information gathered to promote social change on the ground. Future research and action should encourage more people to get involved in removing barriers for people with disabilities, in Bangladesh as well as globally

Impact of inaccessible spaces on community participation of people with mobility limitations in Zambia

BANDA-CHALWE, Martha
NITZ, Jennifer C
DE JONGE, Desleigh
2016

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Background: The study investigated the perspective of people with mobility limitations (PWML) in Zambia, firstly of their accessibility to public buildings and spaces, and secondly of how their capacity to participate in a preferred lifestyle has been affected.

 

Objectives: Firstly to provide insight into the participation experiences of PWML in the social, cultural, economic, political and civic life areas and the relationship of these with disability in Zambia. Secondly to establish how the Zambian disability context shape the experiences of participation by PWML.

 

Method: A qualitative design was used to gather data from 75 PWML in five of the nine provinces of Zambia. Focus group discussions and personal interviews were used to examine the accessibility of the built environment and how this impacted on the whole family’s participation experiences. The nominal group technique was utilised to rank inaccessible buildings and facilities which posed barriers to opportunities in life areas and how this interfered with the whole family’s lifestyle.

 

Results: Inaccessibility of education institutions, workplaces and spaces have contributed to reduced participation with negative implications for personal, family, social and economic aspects of the lives of participants. Government buildings, service buildings, and transportation were universally identified as most important but least accessible.

 

Conclusion: Zambians with mobility limitations have been disadvantaged in accessing services and facilities provided to the public, depriving them and their dependants of full and equitable life participation because of reduced economic capacity. This study will assist in informing government of the need to improve environmental access to enable equal rights for all citizens.

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