Nearly 1 in 4 people in the UK have a disability. Being disabled stems from having impairments or differences, compounded by the barriers created by design of the public realm and how society is organised. We can certainly do something about the latter as the launch today of CIHT’s new report highlights.

It’s an attention-grabbing statistic – 24% of people in the UK “have a physical or mental health condition or illness that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more” that “reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities”.

Maybe you are fortunate in being in the remaining 76%. At the moment. Indications are that less than a fifth of disabled people were born with their disabilities. Across all ages the most common impairment reported by disabled people concerns mobility (47%). Nearly two-thirds of disabled people of state pension age report having a mobility impairment.

So, you’re in the 76%. Perhaps you move about the built environment undeterred by motor traffic, fast moving cyclists, uneven footways, distraction from noise and lighting conditions, poor information, lack of somewhere to sit, the obstacle course of wheelie bins, parked cars and charging cables, and slippery surfaces on punishing gradients? Lucky you.

I’ve only had fleeting first-hand experience of disability in my life so far – but enough to begin to appreciate what the 76% can take for granted. Speaking with someone from the 24% about their lived experiences offers an illuminating window into the reality faced by so many.

I’m proud to see the new Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) report ‘Creating a public realm for all’ now published and available. And a big thank you to Nick Tyler CBE FREng who chaired the underpinning working group, and to all those involved.

The opening line in Nick’s Foreword is a powerful one: “When we say creating a public realm for all we mean all”. This is a tall order to achieve but the report shines a light ahead on the path towards this that needs to be followed. Within the report there are good practice examples of following the path. I particularly liked Suffolk County Councils approach to crowd-sourcing intelligence on locations where there are defective footways. The report rightly calls for all those in the business of changing the public realm to engage in disability equality awareness training.

If you read the report you may, like me, need to remind yourself that the insights it provides concerning design of the public realm are felt keenly by those affected – they are not only words in a report but factors that can make the difference between feeling included in society or not.

#equalitydiversityinclusion #disability #mobilityimpaired

Thank you Nick, Dominic Coleman, Mariya Stoeva, Lily Feasby, Tash Hertke and Antoneta Horbury for your excellent contributions at today’s launch event.

https://www.ciht.org.uk/publicrealm

Main source for figures quoted in post:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9602/