The Precarious Absence of Disability Perspectives in Planning Research

Mikiko Terashima · Kate N. Clark

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Disability Rights and Representation Urban Planning and Governance Urban Transport and Accessibility

Abstract

One in five people in the world are said to have some type of disability. Disability is not merely individuals’ compromised capability in navigating the built environment, but rather the ‘misfit’ of capabilities with how a given living environment is organized. Planning, therefore, has a crucial role to play in responding to the needs of this significant population through changes to the built and social environment. However, discussion on planning theories and practices with a focus on persons with disability (PWD) has been limited to more specific realms of ‘design,’ and precariously absent in broader planning research. This systematic literature review aims to inform potential directions for planning scholarship by exploring the current and historic planning research investigating the needs of PWD. We compiled relevant papers from five prominent English language planning journals, some of which are long-standing (Town Planning Review, 1910–, Journal of the American Planning Association, 1935–). A very limited number of papers (n = 36) on topics related to PWD of any type have been published in the five journals throughout their existence, with even fewer focusing on the population. The subareas of planning these papers addressed include housing, transportation, land use, policy, and urban design. Many papers called for participation by PWD in the planning and decision-making processes, and some recent papers advocated for the production of evidence related to costs of creating accessible infrastructure. A critical look on some disciplinary divides and enhanced roles of planning research would be beneficial.

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References

2022Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)2015Rethinking disability: the social model of disability and chronic disease 1998'Out of Place', 'Knowing One's Place': Space, power and the exclusion of disabled people 2011Universalism, universal design and equitable access to the built environment 2012Outdoor Built Environment Barriers and Facilitators to Activity among Midlife and Older Adults with Mobility Disabilities 2008Mobility Disability and the Urban Built Environment 2010Spatial Planning, Devolution, and New Planning Spaces 2005Disability Discrimination Act

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2023Engaging Disability Theory in Planning Practice 2025Assessing the impact of urban amenities on people with disabilities in London: A multiscale geographically weighted regression analysis 2023Multiple-Stakeholder Perspectives on Accessibility Data and the Use of Socio-Technical Tools to Improve Sidewalk Accessibility 2025Making Space for Time: Temporal and Time-Sensitive Perspectives in Planning Theory and Practice 2023Understanding Everyday Travel Experiences and Transportation Infrastructure Challenges of People with Disabilities in Denver, CO

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