Resources search

Making cities inclusive: safe mobility for persons with disabilities in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

A policy brief concerning safe and inclusive urban mobility is presented. Safe and inclusive mobility is not currently a universally recognised concept in international human rights instruments and development framework. The relationship of various global legal & policy frameworks with safe and inclusive urban mobility is discussed including:

  • The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
  • The New Urban Agenda
  • The UN Road Safety Decade of Action

Recommendations for improved policies and actions are made:

  • Recommendation 1: Recognise safe and inclusive mobility as a transversal issue for realising the Sustainable Development Goals and human rights
  • Recommendation 2: Agree strong political and financial commitments to improve the safety of roads with a focus on vulnerable road users
  • Recommendation 3: Provide safe and accessible urban mobility infrastructures applying universal design approach, all along the mobility chain
  • Recommendation 4: Enhance participatory and evidence-based policy-making for a better governance of road safety, mobility management and urban planning

Inclusive urban mobility and road safety in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

Between 20 to 50 million people worldwide suffer non-fatal injuries in road crashes every year; around 1.25 million are killed. Unsafe roads also represent a major factor of social exclusion, especially for ‘vulnerable road users’. These include notably pedestrians, persons with disabilities, cyclists and children. They represent 46% of road casualties. Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of sustaining injuries from road crashes.

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility and road safety challenges discussed include: safe crossing points over roads; signage and information; collective transport (particularly buses); road design and layout, poor road markings or signposts and the lack of street lighting.

 

Case histories provided are: Engaging government and DPOs to improve safe and inclusive mobility in Burkina Faso; and  Data, road safety and urban mobility in Vientiane, Laos

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings: 

1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility action, based on evidence and through participative processes

2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Inclusive urban mobility and getting to school safely in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

For teenagers in developing countries, there is no greater threat to life than road traffic crashes: road crashes are the leading cause of preventable death of youth aged 15 to 29 years, and the second cause for those aged 5 to 14 years.(6) The risks are even higher for children with disabilities, who are also more exposed to non-fatal injuries from road crashes.

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility and road safety challenges discussed include: safe crossing points over roads and collective transport (particularly buses). 

 

Two case studies are provided: Safer access to school for disabled students in Kenya; and School access and pedestrian safety improvements in Democratic Republic of Congo

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings:

  • 1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility, based on evidence and through participative processes
  • 2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Inclusive urban mobility and getting to work safely in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

The lack of safe and accessible roads in many cities in developing countries impacts negatively on employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Between 20 to 50 million people worldwide suffer non-fatal injuries in road crashes every year; around 1.25 million are killed. Unsafe roads also represent a major factor of social exclusion, especially for ‘vulnerable road users’. These include notably pedestrians, persons with disabilities, cyclists and children. They represent 46% of road casualties. Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of sustaining injuries from road crashes.

 

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility and road safety challenges discussed include: safe crossing points over roads; signage and information; collective transport (particularly buses); accessing buildings such as offices or retail and driving with a disability.

 

Case histories provided are: Accessible transport as part of an inclusive jobs program in Senegal; and Modified vehicles and driving licenses for drivers with disabilities in Vietnam

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings: 

1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility action, based on evidence and through participative processes

2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Inclusive and safe urban mobility and Disaster Risk Management in developing countries

HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI)
June 2018

Expand view

Disabled people are disproportionately affected by disasters owing to mobility difficulties in evacuation, lack of access to information or services and discrimination. When disasters occur, constraining external factors, such as unsafe roads and lack of accessible pedestrian and transport routes, create additional difficulties for coping with the situation. Developing cities vulnerable to disasters also are likely to have a greater proportion of the population with a disability, due to past injuries.

In this thematic brief, the importance of inclusive urban planning is emphasised. Urban mobility challenges relating to disasters discussed include: inaccessible disaster shelters, inaccessible means of evacuation and lack of information.

 

Case histories provided are: Building back better in Haiti; a focus on inclusive access and mobility; and Improving universal accessibility in Kathmandu, Nepal

 

Recommendations for improvements in policies and actions are given under the headings: 

1. Strengthening the policy and financial framework for safe and inclusive mobility action, based on evidence and through participative processes

2. Removing the barriers to safe and accessible mobility, focusing on: the built environment; transport and vehicles; people

Good practices of accessible urban development - Making urban environment inclusive and fully accessible to ALL

August 2016

Expand view

About 6.25 billion people, 15 per cent of them persons with disabilities, are expected to be living in urban centres by 2050. Urbanisation has the potential to be an engineer for achieving sustainable and inclusive development for all. The current lack of environmental accessibility faced by people with disabilities, in particular in many cities in the world, presents a major challenge. As the international community prepares for the Third Global Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which will take place in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016, it is an apt and a strategic opportunity to promote an accessible and inclusive Urban Agenda.

This report is a compendium of promising initiatives and good practices that have emerged in recent yeas successfully promoting accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities, their rights, aspiration and contributions in the contexts of urban development. It countains findings and recommendations which were adopted at a UN expert group meeting, that may be helpful in informing the ongoing Habitat III discourses, the development of the New Urban Agenda as well as in furthering accessible and inclusive urban development 

Disability considerations for infrastructure programmes

AGARWAL, Anjlee
STEELE, Andre
March 2016

Expand view

This study identifies and summarises evidence of the impact of non-accessible infrastructure on people with disabilities. It makes recommendations on how to incorporate the principals of universal access into all infrastructure projects. This document should be read in combination with the DFID (UK Department for International Development)​ Disability Framework “Leaving No One behind” (2014), which sets out how DFID promotes inclusion of people living with disabilities in all its programmes. Topics covered include: rationale for inclusive infrastructure; best practices in project planning, engineering design; monitoring and evaluation processes; inclusive design in planning and policy; mainstreaming disability considerations into infrastructure programmes and policy decisions; linking disabilities with cross cutting agendas. 

The right to adequate housing for persons with disabilities living in cities

UNITED NATIONS HABITAT
2015

Expand view

“This study reviews the literature on the meaning and impact of the right to adequate housing for persons with disabilities in cities. It uses the foundational framework of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and demonstrates how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides a new understanding of this complex right”

 

Adequate Housing Series

Enhanced accessibility for people with disabilities living in urban areas

VENTER, C
et al
2002

Expand view

People with disabilities constitute a significant proportion of the poor in developing countries. If internationally agreed targets on reducing poverty are to be reached, it is critical that specific measures be taken to reduce the societal discrimination and isolation that people with disabilities continue to face. Transport is an important enabler of strategies to fight poverty through enhancing access to education, employment, and social services

Equal opportunities for all : promoting community-based rehabilitation (CBR) among urban poor populations. Initiating and sustaining CBR in urban slums and low-income groups

ASSOCIATION AMICI DI RAOUL FOLLEREAU (AIFO)
October 2001

Expand view

Most CBR experience has come from rural areas in developing countries. However, even in large cities specific population groups - such as people living in slums or low-income areas in the urban peripheries - may face difficulties in accessing rehabilitation services. To address this, the World Health Organization set up a number of pilot consultations and projects in seven countries (Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Brazil, Bolivia, Egypt and Kenya) in 1995. This document gives a report of a final meeting of representatives of these pilot projects.

E-bulletin