Disability and Social Exclusion

The paper analyses response from one hundred and fifty wheelchair users interviewed to gain an overview of the accessibility of the city centre, ten years after the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 in the UK. Responses and findings were based on the cities’ public transport, environment, and the surrounding shopping activities that have continued to present difficulties for wheelchair users that have long restricted their movement (Rosemary, David, & Colin, 2007). In my view, there has been slow progress to ease the movement of disabled individuals even after the conception of the DDA act of 1995, exposing these individuals to restricted mobility to even go shopping in the city centres (Rosemary et al., 2007). However, all is not lost; government and local authorities should focus on redesigning the city centres to suit the needs of wheelchair users to enhance their ease of access to facilities at the centre. For instance, as highlighted from the responses, there is need to improve accessibility through, one, designing universal environments to cater for the needs of all individuals without discrimination on their disability (Rosemary et al., 2007). Additionally, there is need to make the public aware in order to change the overall social attitude so that the disabled can feel also feel part of the society and accepted as normal individuals trying to access utilities. Fu ture city planners should enhance a seamless shopping experience through widening city pavements to de - congest human traffic and design entries and all accessible shopping facilities for wheelchair users. Public utilities and shopping centres should have focal points easy to navigate by wheelchair users (Rosemary et al., 2007). 

In conclusion, the research, therefore, provides a picture of the accessibility of British city centres ten years since the enactment of the DDA act of 1995; this paper reveals a significant amount of effort should be geared towards planning and policy formulations with respect to how wheelchair users are supposed to move around and use the city centre shopping environments, in all cities around the world. With a greater disabled voice as the focus of attention so that decision making should lean towards improving mobility issues of the disabled. 

Reference 

Rosemary D. F. Bromley, David L. Mattews, & Colin J. Thomas (2007). City centre accessibility for wheelchair users: The consumer perspective and the planning implications . Cities , 24 (3), 229–241 .