Survey on Accessibility and Disability Justice in Planning
According to the CDC, 1 in 4 Americans lives with a disability, but rarely is disability considered in the planning of social and built environments. The American Planning Association does not have a division or special interest group that represents over a quarter of the American population, and rarely do schools of planning, architecture, or engineering offer courses that touch on accessibility beyond ADA compliance.
Thanks to a grant from Temple University’s Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), I have the opportunity to address this gap in planning practice and education. I am in the process of creating an open-source platform to host resources and content promoting disability-informed planning, including a self-guided curriculum for a planning-focused introduction to accessibility and disability justice. I have hopes that this platform will be just the beginning of a movement towards planning for access for all, where planning standards will shift from ADA compliance to the active inclusion and incorporation of disability.
This survey is part of the pre-research effort to understand what kinds of resources and materials would be best to include, and how this platform should be curated to address the needs of planners today. Results will not be published, and your answers will be confidential.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please feel free to email me, or connect with me on LinkedIn to follow for project updates. My advisor for this project is Dr. Jeffrey Doshna, AICP, who may be contacted. The deadline to complete the survey is July 9, 2021.
Thank you for your time and contribution to this project!
Kaylen Phillips (They/Them)
Temple University – Class of 2021
College of Liberal Arts, Geography and Urban Studies