People with disabilities are one of the poorest groups in Western societies. In particular, they lack power, education and opportunities. For most disabled people, their daily reality is dependence on a carer, while trying to survive on state welfare payments. The dominant societal stereotype of disability as a ‘pitiful’ state reinforces the view that people with disabilities are somehow ‘less than human’. In taking exception to these, and related, conceptions of disability, this book explores one of the crucial contexts within which the marginal status of disabled people is experienced: the interrelationships between disability, physical access, and the built environment. The author seeks to explore some of the critical processes underpinning the social construction and production of disability as a state of marginalization and oppression in the built environment. These concerns are interwoven with a discussion of the changing role of the state in defining, categorising, and (re)producing ‘states of disablement’ for people with disabilities. Focusing primarily on the United Kingdom, although with a substantial discussion of disability and access issues in the USA, the book also considers the role of the ‘design professionals’, architects, planners, and building control officers, in the construction of specific spaces and places, which, literally, lock people with disabilities ‘out’. From the shattered paving stones along the high street, to the absence of induction loops in a civic building, people with disabilities daily negotiate through hostile environments. Using a range of empirical material, the book documents how the environmental planning system in the United Kingdom is attempting to address the inaccessible nature of the built environment for people with disabilities, while discussing how disabled people are contesting the constraints placed upon their mobility. The book draws on a range of ideas from geography, sociology, and environmental planning and reflects the emergent interest in planning schools with equal opportunity issues and planning for minority groups. It will be relevant to final year geography, planning, and architecture courses and postgraduate planning courses.

Urban Narratives foregrounds previously silenced voices of young people of color who are labeled disabled. Overrepresented in special education classes, yet underrepresented in educational research, these students - the largest group within segregated special education classes - share their perceptions of the world and their place within it. Eight 'portraits in progress' consisting of their own words and framed by their poetry and drawings, reveal compelling insights about life inside and out of the American urban education system. The book uses an intersectional analysis to examine how power circulates in society throughout and among historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal domains, impacting social, academic, and economic opportunities for individuals, and expanding or circumscribing their worlds.

This book explains how space, place and mobility have shaped the experiences of disabled people both in the past and in contemporary societies. The key features of this insightful study include: * a critical appraisal of theories of disability and a new disability model * case studies to explore how the transition to capitalism disadvantaged disabled people * an exploration of the Western city and the policies of community care and accessibility regulation. Brendan Gleeson presents an important contribution to the major policy debates on disability in Western societies and offers new considerations for the broader debates on embodiment and space within Geography.

The future of disability in America will depend on how well the U.S. prepares for and manages the demographic, fiscal, and technological developments that will unfold during the next two to three decades. Building upon two prior studies from the Institute of Medicine (the 1991 Institute of Medicine's report Disability in America and the 1997 report Enabling America), The Future of Disability in America examines both progress and concerns about continuing barriers that limit the independence, productivity, and participation in community life of people with disabilities. This book offers a comprehensive look at a wide range of issues, including the prevalence of disability across the lifespan; disability trends the role of assistive technology; barriers posed by health care and other facilities with inaccessible buildings, equipment, and information formats; the needs of young people moving from pediatric to adult health care and of adults experiencing premature aging and secondary health problems; selected issues in health care financing (e.g., risk adjusting payments to health plans, coverage of assistive technology); and the organizing and financing of disability-related research. The Future of Disability in America is an assessment of both principles and scientific evidence for disability policies and services. This book's recommendations propose steps to eliminate barriers and strengthen the evidence base for future public and private actions to reduce the impact of disability on individuals, families, and society.

"Accessible Housing considers the role and significance of house builders in influencing the design and construction of accessible housing that can meet the needs of disabled people. Its primary focus is the speculative house building process, and the construction of private (for sale) dwellings. The book describes and evaluates the socio-institutional political, and technical relations that underpin the design and construction of housing. These, so it is argued, shape builders' reluctance to design and construct housing that is flexible to accommodate variations in bodily needs and performance." -- Book jacket.

This Open Access book is an anthropological urban study of the Emirate of Dubai, its institutions, and their evolution. It provides a contemporary history of disability in city planning from a non-Western perspective and explores the cultural context for its positioning. Three insights inform the author’s approach. First, disability research, much like other urban or social issues, must be situated in a particular place. Second, access and inclusion forms a key part of both local and global planning issues. Third, a 21st century planning education should take access and inclusion into consideration by applying a disability lens to the empirical, methodological, and theoretical advances of the field. By bridging theory and practice, this book provides new insights on inclusive city planning and comparative urban theory. This book should be read as part of a larger struggle to define and assert access; it’s a story of how equity and justice are central themes in building the cities of the future and of today.

How design for disabled people and mainstream design could inspire, provoke, and radically change each other.