Disability activism and institutional heritage

Abstract

This article focuses on former sites of disability institutions and activism of people with disability. It argues that planning processes for redevelopment and re-use of sites of former institutions are an important focus for activism, particularly for reparative urban planning and inclusive community engagement. This argument is made through two sets of data. First, disability activism is explored in a case study of the 2021 New South Wales (Australia) Government planning proposal for rezoning Peat Island. The proposal overlooked the island’s 99-year history as an institution and excluded people with intellectual disability from engaging in planning processes. Second, the article contextualises the Peat Island case study within the authors’ empirical research with people with intellectual disability about remembering institutions. Together, these sets of data underscore links between disability history and futures by bringing together institutional heritage and urban planning with recognition of lived experiences (including activism) of people who were institutionalised. This historical context is then considered alongside present-day disability activism for a more inclusive, equitable future. The article proposes further research on disability-inclusive, reparative planning approaches to redevelopment and re-use of former sites of institutions to promote disability activist leadership and contributions to the afterlives of former institutions.

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