Skip to content

Episode 88: A Day for All: International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Resources

Episode 88 Resources: A Day for All: International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Recording & Transcripts

Soundcloud

Listen: SoundCloud ADA Live! – Episode 88: A Day for All: International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Transcripts

Speaker

Anna Lawson, Professor of Law and Joint Director of the University of Leeds Centre for Disability Studies, Project Coordinator and Principal Investigator Inclusive Public Space (IPS) project, University of Leeds

Description

The United Nations (UN) recognizes December 3rd as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). In 2020, the theme for this global celebration is “a day for all” – which reflects a growing understanding that disability is part of the human condition and nearly everyone will experience disability at some point in life.

Looking at disability rights around the world, we see that, few countries have truly addressed the lack of equality for people with disabilities in public spaces and also for older people, children, and caregivers. Public streets and sidewalks  include barriers to full access and inclusion because of policies, laws and attitudes that ignore the needs and rights for people with disabilities.

This episode of ADA Live! features the Inclusive Public Space Project, an exciting international research project that investigates the inequality caused by inaccessible streets and sidewalks in local communities. Please join us in a discussion of this important work with our guests, Anna Lawson, Professor of Law at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and Peter Blanck, JD, PhD, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

Additional Event

Featured Organization

Inclusive Public Space project
The Inclusive Public Space project investigates the social justice problems caused by city streets which exclude some pedestrians – particularly pedestrians whose circumstances mean that they do not meet general expectations about mobility or ability. The Project aims to deepen understanding of what aspects of streets are experienced as exclusionary and by whom, how these problems affect the lives of the people concerned, and how effectively law and politics are responding to problems caused by inaccessible or difficult streets. It also aims to increase shared concern about these social justice problems and to raise awareness of how law and politics can be used to challenge them. The Inclusive Public Space project is a five year project which began on 1 January 2019. It is funded by a European Research Council Advanced Grant.