Spaced Out in the City: The Wrinkled World of Transit for Those with Limited Mobility

Abstract

The problem of urban accessibility for persons with mobility restrictions has been for some years a subject of discussion both within academic communities and communities of physically restricted transit users. Some have argued the issue lies within the spaces created by those whose experience of the city is dependent on transit rather than automobile use, or who use wheelchairs rather than walk. This paper attempts to advance what has been a largely experiential literature into a more sustained argument that develops a program to describe the altered spaces created by different transit modalities for users with different abilities. With a review of the literature it begins with the author's own experience and the means by which it led to a new transit initiative focused upon surface analytics in transit analysis rather than a more traditional mode of consideration.