Psychosocial Impacts of Urban Accessibility for People with Physical Disabilities

Abstract

In view of different discussions about the aspects that involve the lives and rights of people with physical disabilities (PwPD), the purpose of this study was to analyze the psychosocial repercussions of urban accessibility for PwPD. The research was qualitative, with semi-structured interviews, using content analysis as a strategy to treat the data. Eight handicapped people (with wheel chair) who live in a historic city in Minas Gerais were interviewed. The main repercussions of urban accessibility were identified and grouped in four categories: appropriation of urban space and the feeling of autonomy versus dependence; experiences in urban space; limits and overcoming, and importance of accessibility for the urban social inclusion process. In addition, the PwPD’s difficulty was observed to distinguish between physical and social aspects, with psychosocial impacts on urban accessibility for those people. Other studies need to be conducted in order to verify these effects in other contexts.