Evaluation of environment accessibility for people with disabilities in Novosibirsk

A level of accessibility of the environment indicates the integration of people with disabilities into the society. Since the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities was ratified by Russia, building of accessible environment has got a special attention. Currently, this process has being implemented by the federal and regional target programs. Each subject of the Federation develops its own position that is based of an available resources. The authors analyzed the level of accessibility of the urban environment in one of the largest Russian cities - Novosibirsk. People with paraplegia who use wheelchairs was selected as a subject of inquiry. This category is faced up to considerable difficulties while moving around the city.Techniques of social mapping of urban space were used as an evaluation methods. City maps are marked with the basic social and cultural institutions that are supposed to be accessible for people with disabilities. However, exact route by which they can get in these institutions were required to be examined. This was the main object of analysis. Arbitrary directions on the main central streets of Novosibirsk has also been studied. The study result proved the level of accessibility of the environment in one of the largest cities in Russia is relatively low. And it shows existence of the only certain elements of that kind of environment. In general, creation of an accessible environment is far away from being complete. It certainly requires to take into account the views of disabled people themselves.

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