Planning Radical Imperfection: Generating Meaningful Accessibility in Cultural Spaces Through Lessons of Disability Experience, Cultures, and Histories

This major research paper investigates the experiences of people with disabilities (PWD) within cultural spaces in order to produce a framework for understanding how planners might provide meaningful accessibility within the built environment. The current practices of planners are not meeting the needs of most PWD because planners have not been given the opportunity to learn from disability histories, cultures nor experience. My research, therefore, engaged five participants who all identify as Blind, low-vision or visually impaired in a focus group and semi-structured interview, to gather insights into how the accessibility of cultural spaces generates meaningful inclusion for PWD. The central theoretical framework is "crip theory", an academic lens in which disability is valued as a source of knowledge. My research reveals how a "cripped" understanding of access, paired with the lived experiences of PWD in accessing cultural spaces, can be applied to improve the way planners engage with accessibility.