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Public Transport in the Disabling City: A Narrative Ethnography of Dilemmas and Strategies of People with Mobility Disabilities

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  • Juan Camilo Mansilla

    (School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
    Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec City, QC G1M 2S8, Canada)

  • Normand Boucher

    (Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec City, QC G1M 2S8, Canada
    Department of Management, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada)

  • François Routhier

    (School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
    Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec City, QC G1M 2S8, Canada)

Abstract

Access to transport is key to people’s movement in cities, their social participation, and personal development. People with mobility disabilities (PMDs) face additional barriers when using public transport. The objective of this study is to identify the dilemmas that PMDs face in their daily mobility practices and their coping strategies, in particular the ways in which these dilemmas and strategies are influenced by both personal and environmental characteristics. We conducted ethnographic research, utilizing narrative interviews, life stories, focus groups, and participant observations. Our aim was to analyse multiple experiences of mobility in situations of disability in Quebec City, Canada. This study engages the following research question: how do PMDs navigate their social environment, considering the impact of personal, social, and physical landscape factors on their mobility strategies? Depending on the accessibility of fixed-route public buses and the availability of public paratransit services, what are the dilemmas that PMDs face and how do they shape their mobility strategies? Using the three-dimensional model of narrative analysis, we present a narrative ethnography of participants’ dilemmas and strategies about their experiences on public transport. Five dilemmas are examined. Through this methodology, we propose to extend the study of “constellations of mobility” by including the notion of strategies as an experiential outcome between personal and physical landscape factors, practices, and meanings of mobility. This offers new research perspectives both in disability and mobility studies and in the understanding of urban accessibility experiences in situations of disability.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Camilo Mansilla & Normand Boucher & François Routhier, 2024. "Public Transport in the Disabling City: A Narrative Ethnography of Dilemmas and Strategies of People with Mobility Disabilities," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-34, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jdisab:v:4:y:2024:i:1:p:15-261:d:1359215
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Aarhaug, Jørgen & Elvebakk, Beate, 2015. "The impact of Universally accessible public transport–a before and after study," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 143-150.
    2. Krista L. Best & Luc Noreau & Marie-Andrée Gagnon & Corentin Barthod & Sander L. Hitzig & François Routhier, 2022. "Housing, Transportation and Quality of Life among People with Mobility Limitations: A Critical Review of Relationships and Issues Related to Access to Home- and Community-Based Services," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Rob Imrie, 2000. "Disability and Discourses of Mobility and Movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(9), pages 1641-1656, September.
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