Being someone who mainly has worked within intellectual disability, I hadn’t given much thought to how crucial accessibility was to to those with a physical disability. I have seen ramps and elevators, push button doors, bathrooms etc. but I hadn’t fully understood how much these tools can help.
This discussion first got me interested when visiting Glasgow Center for Inclusive Living. They talked a lot about how inaccessible the city is, and how challenging it can be to find accessible housing for those who should be able to be fully independent. It kind of struck me at that point in time, how terrible it must feel to have the potential ability to live independently, but not being able to access that.
Since being in the city I have recognized a lot of challenges that lie within trying to reside in the city. The cobblestones are very hard to manage with a wheelchair. There’s a lack of elevators, and ramps. Many curbs are missing a place for someone with a wheelchair to be able to get onto the curb.
That being said, I have noticed that in newer buildings- museums, and railway stations, there is a valiant effort being made to make things more accessible.
About a year ago while taking an “Intro to Special Education” course, we are all assigned a project on looking at accessibility at UMass. At the time, I didn’t really understand the full importance. Being naive, I kind of just assumed most everything was accessible now a days. This trip and my time in Scotland had given me a totally new perspective on how I see accessibility, and I hope to be a bigger advocate for it in the future.
2 thoughts on “Accessibility in the City”
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It took me until coming on this trip to realize the inaccessibility in this world too! It was never something I had really given much thought to, given that I am a fully mobile person, but now that I have more of an understanding of what people with physical disabilities need, I realized that Edinburgh really isn’t a pioneer in accessibility. Even being able to walk, the cobblestones definitely posed a threat to my ankles, I couldn’t begin to imagine what it would be like to try to navigate a wheelchair or crutches through those difficult streets and sidewalks.
Although the world has progressed in being more accessible, there is clearly a LOT more work to do. I also haven’t really thought about accessibility until I participated activity in a Boltwood Seminar that was similar to your project, where we had to walk around Umass and rate buildings on their accessibility. I agree that waking around the city was rough and very limiting for those with physical disabilities. There were even areas where one side of the street had an accessible curve, but not the other side once you crossed?? Although Edinburgh and Glasgow are beautiful cities that takes pride in their historical architecture, there has to be a way to preserve its beauty while also being accessible for everyone and anyone to explore it.