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From Social Services to Urban Planning: Accessibility for People with Disabilities – The Case of Municipal Professionalization
Sun, August 11, 2:30 to 4:10pm, New York Hilton, Floor: Second Floor, Sutton CenterAbstract
Israel's Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Act, and specifically its Accessibility Chapter, promotes a shift in the discourse on disability, from charity to human rights. Using the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa as a case study, this research examines how disability legislation is implemented in practice.
Combining qualitative methodology and Critical Disability theory, this paper compares the municipality's actions before and after approval of the Accessibility Chapter. It examines how principles stemming from the social model of disability, formally integrated into the law itself, have been translated into municipal planning practices.
The findings show that the municipality has undergone significant processes of professionalization and institutionalization. This facilitated comprehensive implementation of the Accessibility Chapter and its underpinning principle of inclusion. But these processes have also led to a shift of authority, from welfare professionals to accessibility advisors and planners; this has prevented citizens with disabilities from participating in decision-making processes on policies that affect their lives.
This paper presents a critical organizational analysis of the field of accessibility for people with disabilities in an urban context. I argue that the professionalization of the field of accessibility affects the participation of people with disabilities, due to the institutionalization of professional practices, and the inherently technical and operational nature of the planning professions. Disability Studies scholars have proposed strategies to ensure the participation of people with disabilities alongside the drive to professionalization, notably in the field of medicine. I suggest that these strategies should similarly be adopted in the field of urban planning.