People living with disabilities, ranging in severity, regularly face barriers. Oftentimes, built environments are designed in ways that fail to consider the needs of those in situations of disability. That can include improperly sized ramps for wheelchair users or public spaces that are not sensory friendly.
One 2024 study found that most buildings in Canada are not accessible for people with disabilities.
This lack of accommodation can have a serious impact on a person's quality of life. For example, people with disabilities report challenges in their workplaces, such as a lack of automatic door openers and poor signage and way-finding.
If our public spaces are not accessible to all, then they cannot be truly public. The first step in changing our built environment is to bring awareness to the different forms of disabilities that people in Canada experience.
