Geography of disability

Geography of disability[1] is a multi-disciplinary branch of human geography. It studies the experiences of people with disability and the provability of acquiring disability due to the region of residence of the person by analyzing environmental, politics, accessibility, mobility and the socio-economic landscape of a particular region.

According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world's population lives with some form of disability, of which 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning.[2] In Europe and America, the disability ratio is one in five people.[2] The WHO report indicated that poverty, government investment in medical service, and individual access to health care could affect the risk of acquiring disability.

In Australia, research on disability conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found a strong positive correlation between location in economically disadvantaged areas and the probability of acquiring disability as mild or severe.[3]

This correlation is also seen in the United States. In the US, according to the Disability Statistics Annual Report,[4] the distribution of people with disabilities aged 18 to 64 is concentrated in the Southeast United States, including Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas etc. The theory that lowered socio-economic values increases disability risk is supported when considering the regions mentioned, which are the most economically disadvantaged in the United States.

Another example providing supporting data is Memphis, Tennessee, a city with a high poverty rate of 26.2%. It is also one of the US cities with the densest population of disabled people. A reported 12.6% - 17.8% of its working population (aged 18 to 64) live with some form of disability.[5] The figures also indicated that females were at greater risk of having a disability than males, regardless of their age.[2] According to the Eurostat, in Europe, women were 3% more prone to longstanding health problems and daily activity difficulties than men in 2011.[6]

History

Since the 1930s, Geography scholars have recognized issues with disabilities. The research has extended to various socio-spatial processes relating to disabilities interacting with power, space and society. There were some analyses of disabilities within the socio-spatial perspectives. However, these analyses tended to isolate themselves from each other instead of integrating all ideas as a critical discourse.[7] It also changed the definition of disability from a medical point of view towards the socio-spatial determinants.

Rob Irmie, a professor in disability studies, explained the recent development in The Geographies of Disability:[7] "An opening observation is that since the mid-1990s, what has emerged has been a broadening of the substantive focus of studies of space and disability, beyond some of the earlier foci of health, cognition and behaviour, welfare, design, and architecture. In particular, the study of disability is evident in most parts of human geography and not just confined to a specialist or sub-part of the discipline."

The narratives and discursive practices suggested by Hawkesworth also emerged in the geography of disability studies.

The interrelationships between the body, the feeling of a place and disability, suggested by Imrie, lead to a broader and deeper scope and focus of the studies, especially regarding different age groups with different extents and types of disability.[7]

Socio-economic issues

The logic of disability oppression closely parallels the pressure of other groups. It is a logic bound up with political-economic needs and belief systems of domination.[8]

The models of disability

The medical model of disability considers it as a physical problem, the incapability of a disabled person to perform activities of daily living as 'normal' as a person that has no disability. Studying disability under the medical model focuses on easing the inconvenience and improving a person with disabilities' daily experience, such as introducing advanced assistive devices or mobility aids like wheelchairs for disabled individuals who live independently.

On the other hand, the social model of disability evokes the idea of social integration by demonstrating the difficulties faced by disabled people in the wake of their physical or mental functioning differences. The social model of disability encourages the mainstream social and cultural structure to accommodate disabled individuals with more assistive infrastructure and improved social attitudes.

Children and teenagers with learning difficulties are more likely to experience discrimination, such as rejection by mainstream schools. The young disabled population aged 15–24 are ten times more prone to receiving discrimination than the elder disabled population aged 65 and over.[2]

Rob Imrie and Claire Edwards further described in their article how the geographical research methodology is carried out for social research on disabled people.[9]

"Hall and Kearns (2001: 243), for example, comment that 'traditional' research methods, such as questionnaires and interviews, 'can fail to represent the geographical lives of intellectually disabled people' (also, see Hall, 2004).[10] Similarly, a project by Kitchin (2000) about the opinions of disabled people about social research shows that most do not like using methods that fail to capture the complexities of disability. Such methods include pre-set questions that collect quantitative data and statistics. These observations suggest that using particular qualitative or interpretative methods is a preferred way of giving voice to disabled people's experiences and opening up the scope for inclusive research practices. In this respect, some important methodological developments in geographical research seek to articulate the different ways that disabled people know and experience the world."[7]

Environmental Politics of Disability

The environmental politics of disability

A disabled person's origin and living environment, including mobility, accessibility, space and living conditions, dramatically determine and impact their daily experience and physical and mental disorders.

Accessible tourism

The concept of accessible tourism is one of the significant developments derived from the development of the geography of disability. The idea behind accessible tourism is to strive for a fundamental human right for those with disabilities to participate in tourism and to promote the best accessibility practices by engaging representatives of the international tourism sector and the representatives of disabled individuals and non-governmental parties to cooperate.[11]

In the wake of the development of disability research, along with the awareness of the need of tourists, the concept and the idea of accessible tourism, which aims to promote 'tourism without barriers', has gradually drawn people's attention as well as the World Tourism Organization's publication.[11] UNWTO Archived 2018-11-07 at the Wayback Machine has since published a range of information, including Manuals on Accessible Tourism for tourism stakeholders to ensure the quality and quantity of the supply of good accessible tourism practices, and recommendations on Accessible Tourism for people with disabilities.[12]

The research results of the geography of disability intrigue further studies of the universe design of space about mobility and accessibility and the improvement of the assistive technologies to confront the barriers encountered by those with disabilities. The geographical model of disability was created during the research of the geography of disability.[11]

Zajadacz[13] stated, "In recent years, geographers have made significant strides towards understanding the spatiality of disability. This research has presented disability as a population characteristic that inevitably leads to marginalization and spatial exclusion from otherwise normal social arenas and spaces within the built environment. Geographers claimed that throughout the research on the geography of disability, they connected the cause of disability in terms of social and spatial environment and helped the promotion of more accommodating resolutions which "provide access to sites and the full scope of life within society taking different degrees and types of disability into consideration."[11]

Discrimination in law and policy

Some countries have enacted policies to address discrimination and injustice against persons with disabilities.

The WHO's report about the disabling barriers mentions:

"Beliefs and prejudices constitute barriers to education, employment, health care, and social participation. For example, the attitudes of teachers, school administrators, other children, and even family members affect the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. Misconceptions by employers that people with disabilities are less productive than their non-disabled counterparts, and ignorance about available adjustments to work arrangements limits employment opportunities."[2]

In Australia, The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) prohibits any direct or indirect discrimination towards a person, either temporarily or permanently disabled or with the future potential of being disabled, in areas including employment, education, access to services and public places and rights to purchase premises.[14]

References

[7]

  1. "Geography of Disability - Geography - Oxford Bibliographies - obo". Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  2. World Health Organisation (December 14, 2011). "World Report on Disability". Retrieved 17 July 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Louise., O'Rance (2009). The geography of disability and economic disadvantage in Australian capital cities. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. ISBN 9781740249102. OCLC 319908376.
  4. "Annual Report | Annual Disability Statistics Compendium". disabilitycompendium.org. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  5. "These are America's worst cities for crime, employment, housing costs". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  6. "Disability statistics - health - Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2018-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Charlton, James I. (1998-03-27). "The Dimensions of Disability Oppression An Overview". The Dimensions of Disability Oppression: An Overview. pp. 21–36. doi:10.1525/california/9780520207950.003.0002. ISBN 9780520207950.
  9. Imrie, Rob; Edwards, Claire (May 2007). "The Geographies of Disability: Reflections on the Development of a Sub-Discipline: The geographies of disability". Geography Compass. 1 (3): 623–640. doi:10.1111/j.1749-8198.2007.00032.x.
  10. Hall, Edward; Kearns, Robin (September 2001). "Making space for the 'intellectual' in geographies of disability". Health & Place. 7 (3): 237–246. doi:10.1016/s1353-8292(01)00007-7. PMID 11439258.
  11. Zajadacz, Alina (2015-01-01). "The Contribution Of The Geography Of Disability To The Development Of 'Accessible Tourism'". Turyzm. 25 (1): 19–27. doi:10.2478/tour-2014-0016. ISSN 0867-5856.
  12. "Accessible Tourism | Ethics, Culture and Social Responsibility". ethics.unwto.org. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  13. Zajadacz, Alina (2015-11-27). "The contribution of the geography of disability to the development of 'accessible tourism'". Turyzm/Tourism. 25 (1): 19–27. doi:10.2478/tour-2014-0016. ISSN 2080-6922. S2CID 56119247.
  14. connie.kwan (2015-02-18). "Disability discrimination". www.humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
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