IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i12p7299-d838814.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating the Unseen City: Town Planners, Architects, Ophthalmic Professionals, and Charity Opinions on Navigating of the Built Environment with a Visual Impairment

Author

Listed:
  • Laura N. Cushley

    (Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK)

  • Neil Galway

    (School of the Natural and Built Environment, Queen’s University Belfast, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK)

  • Katie Curran

    (Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK)

  • Tunde Peto

    (Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK)

Abstract

People with a visual impairment often find navigating around towns and cities difficult. Streetscape features such as bollards, street cafés, and parked cars on pavements are some of the most common issues. in this paper semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders including built environment professionals, visually impaired individuals, ophthalmic professionals, and sight loss charities. All stakeholders felt there were barriers and enablers to navigating streets with a visual impairment. Stakeholders agreed these can have an impact on the daily lives of those with a visual impairment. While built environment professionals knew of policies and guidance around accessibility for people with a visual impairment, there was a lack of professional knowledge about the spectrum of visual impairment. Despite this, stakeholders felt these small changes could have a positive impact, making accessible cities for all. A collaborative approach to streetscape design and further education could help create better environments for all.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura N. Cushley & Neil Galway & Katie Curran & Tunde Peto, 2022. "Navigating the Unseen City: Town Planners, Architects, Ophthalmic Professionals, and Charity Opinions on Navigating of the Built Environment with a Visual Impairment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7299-:d:838814
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7299/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7299/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rob Imrie, 2012. "Auto-Disabilities: The Case of Shared Space Environments," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(9), pages 2260-2277, September.
    2. John Parkin & Nicola Smithies, 2012. "Accounting for the Needs of Blind and Visually Impaired People in Public Realm Design," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1), pages 135-149.
    3. Rob Imrie, 2000. "Disability and Discourses of Mobility and Movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(9), pages 1641-1656, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gavin R. Jenkins & Hon K. Yuen & Laura K. Vogtle, 2015. "Experience of Multisensory Environments in Public Space among People with Visual Impairment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Laura N. Cushley & Lajos Csincsik & Gianni Virgili & Katie Curran & Giuliana Silvestri & Neil Galway & Tunde Peto, 2024. "The NaviSight Study: Investigating How Diabetic Retinopathy and Retinitis Pigmentosa Affect Navigating the Built Environment," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-18, July.
    3. 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.
    4. Dobbs, Lynn, 2005. "Wedded to the car: women, employment and the importance of private transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 266-278, May.
    5. Umu Akcil, 2018. "The use of mobile learning for visually impaired learners school in tolerance education contents," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 969-982, December.
    6. Taylor, Zbigniew & Józefowicz, Iwona, 2012. "Intra-urban daily mobility of disabled people for recreational and leisure purposes," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 155-172.
    7. Peter Adey, 2004. "Surveillance at the Airport: Surveilling Mobility/Mobilising Surveillance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(8), pages 1365-1380, August.
    8. Julian Hine & Fiona Mitchell, 2001. "Better for Everyone? Travel Experiences and Transport Exclusion," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(2), pages 319-332, February.
    9. Paul Simpson, 2017. "A sense of the cycling environment: Felt experiences of infrastructure and atmospheres," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(2), pages 426-447, February.
    10. Mohiuddin, Hossain & Bhuiya, Md Musfiqur Rahman & Hasan, Md Musleh Uddin & Jamme, Huê-Tâm, 2024. "How individual perceptions of transportation systems influence mode choice for mobility-challenged people: A case study in Dhaka using an integrated choice and latent variable model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 259-270.
    11. Pimkamol Mattsson & Maria Johansson & Mai Almén & Thorbjörn Laike & Elizabeth Marcheschi & Agneta Ståhl, 2020. "Improved Usability of Pedestrian Environments After Dark for People with Vision Impairment: an Intervention Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, February.
    12. Cook, Simon & Stevenson, Lorna & Aldred, Rachel & Kendall, Matt & Cohen, Tom, 2022. "More than walking and cycling: What is ‘active travel’?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 151-161.
    13. Buliung, Ron & Bilas, Patrick & Ross, Timothy & Marmureanu, Cosmin & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2021. "More than just a bus trip: School busing, disability and access to education in Toronto, Canada," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 496-505.
    14. Bhuiya, Md Musfiqur Rahman & Hasan, Md Musleh Uddin & Mohiuddin, Hossain & Anni, Afrin Hossain & Chen, Zhi & Jones, Steven, 2024. "Inequalities within mobility inequalities: A case study of mode specific problems faced by movement challenged persons of Dhaka, Bangladesh," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    15. Nancy Worth, 2013. "Visual Impairment in the City: Young People’s Social Strategies for Independent Mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(3), pages 574-586, February.
    16. Thays A. Oliveira & Yuri B. Gabrich & Helena Ramalhinho & Miquel Oliver & Miri W. Cohen & Luiz S. Ochi & Serigne Gueye & Fábio Protti & Alysson A. Pinto & Diógenes V. M. Ferreira & Igor M. Coelho & Vi, 2020. "Mobility, Citizens, Innovation and Technology in Digital and Smart Cities," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, January.
    17. Kaja Pogačar & Andrej Žižek & Peter Šenk, 2022. "Mapping the Transformation Potential of Streets Using Urban Planning Parameters and Open Spatial Datasets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.
    18. Brian L Due & Simon Bierring Lange, 2019. "Troublesome Objects: Unpacking Ocular-Centrism in Urban Environments by Studying Blind Navigation Using Video Ethnography and Ethnomethodology," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 24(4), pages 475-495, December.
    19. Meghann Ormond, 2015. "En route : Transport and Embodiment in International Medical Travel Journeys Between Indonesia and Malaysia," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 285-303, April.
    20. Marsden, Greg & Docherty, Iain & Dowling, Robyn, 2020. "Parking futures: Curbside management in the era of ‘new mobility’ services in British and Australian cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7299-:d:838814. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.