The Agenda with Steve Paikin (Audio) - How Can Accessibility Shape a Better City?
Episode Date: October 25, 2024Things like public transit, building codes, and snow removal are not always planned keeping in mind people with disabilities. So, what does an accessible city for all look like? Writer and disability ...organizer Emily Macrae has some suggestions, and they can be found in a new book of essays and interviews she's edited, called "Living Disability: Building Accessible Futures for Everybody".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Public transit, building codes, snow removal.
These policies are not always planned with people with disabilities in mind.
So what does an accessible city for all look like?
Writer and disability organizer Emily McCray has some suggestions
and they can be found in a new book of essays and interviews she's edited.
It's called Living Disability, Building Accessible Futures for Everybody.
And it brings Emily McCe to our studios. Welcome
All right, so let's start by talking about some terminology
In the intro to this book, you know that contributors will switch between person first and identity first language break it down for us
What's the difference? Yeah, for sure. So there's lots of different ways of talking about disability
I think the most important thing is that we do talk about it and we include it in our conversations about all of the topics
that you
Mentioned off the top when we say person first that would be like saying a person with a disability
And so the motivation there is to focus on the person rather than the disability and to put that first in the phrase
Another approach would be identity first language. And so that would be like saying
Another approach would be identity first language and so that would be like saying
Disabled person or disabled people and I think that is acknowledging that disability is an inherent part of a person's identity
It sort of shapes how they interact with the rest of the world
Why do different writers in this book have different preferences in terms of how they want to?
Identify yeah for sure. I think it's not like one is better than the other.
Both are equally valid.
I think if you're interacting with someone, you can kind of wait and see which language
they use.
You can ask outright if you want to be extra clear.
But I think one reason that there is this variation is that anyone who's disabled is
balancing other identities, whether we're part of a queer community, a faith community.
We're also in relationship with other people who have other ways
of moving through the world.
And everyone chooses language that
best represents their experiences.
All right, one more terminology, but I promise it's the last one.
Many of these chapters refer to the medical model
of disability versus the social model.
What does each
model look like? Can you give us some examples? When we're thinking about different
frameworks for understanding disability, really the medical and the social
models focus on different aspects of what needs to be fixed. So the medical
model thinks about disability as being a flaw that is inside of an individual and
so there's a need for scientific intervention,
whether that's from a doctor, from another health care
professional to cure or to treat the disability or the flaw
in the person.
And I would say something about that
is that it puts a lot of pressure on the individual
to change and adapt.
They need to do things differently
to be more like other people. In contrast, the social model frames disability as a
mismatch between a person and their environment. And so that's useful because
that allows all of us to look around us and think about what could be different
so that more people could participate more fully.
Do you have an example for that model.
So if we're thinking about the social model of disability,
if there were no lights on not only in this room,
but in this building, you and I might need night vision
goggles to get around.
And that would be, honestly, a pretty expensive
and specialized assistive device that
would allow us to get to the exit or get to the next floor. In contrast, someone who's blind or low vision and who is accustomed to navigating using other cues that aren't necessarily visual
would probably not have a problem in that environment.
Okay. All right. I want to read a little snippet of from the book. It starts off by saying,
We're the experts, but we are not a monolith. A foundational piece of being disabled is knowing that other people don't move
through the world like you do, don't notice what you do.
We're musicians and artists, academics and activists, thrifters and gardeners,
film critics and movie buffs.
Every person in this book has an area of expertise beyond our lived
experiences of disability.
We are disabled and not disabled, but we've found solutions and bridged problems
that others have never had to consider.
People in the disability community may have
completely different experiences in the world
and navigate and how they navigate their city.
So how did you come together to advocate for change
when experiences are so different?
I mean, I love my city.
I care deeply about Toronto, but I'm also
curious about other communities of all sizes
and how they work or why they don't.
And when I was starting to read and then write
about urban issues, I noticed that disability
was covered very rarely in accessibility as well,
or if it was, only very poorly.
And that really didn't represent my own experiences
with disability throughout my life.
And so what I hope that this book does
is that it brings together not only things that I notice,
but things that other people who are already doing the work
across Canada of making their communities more accessible
are doing differently and encouraging
in terms of the way that we gather,
the spaces that we share, and other things like online communities, the design of forms.
So many things can be done differently so that more people can participate fully.
We'll talk about that a little later.
I want to talk about some of the issues that we're dealing with.
Toronto specifically and actually all across this country you can look, dealing with rising
housing costs in China.
What's the impact on people with disabilities when it comes to housing?
A lot of housing is not designed with the needs of disabled people in mind
and there are
physical components of housing that could be
done differently. I mean if we look at Ontario the building code was updated in 2012 so that 15% of all
New units in multi-unit residential buildings have to include some basic accessibility features
And that might sound like progress, but if we break down that those numbers, it's not a lot
I mean first off 2012 is already a while ago
15% not 50% not a hundred percent And those units that have to have accessibility features,
those are only in multi-unit residential buildings. So that excludes single-family
homes, that excludes townhouses, duplexes. Really it's cutting out sort of the
missing middle housing form that we know we need to bring density and create
spaces that are affordable for everyone in our cities.
Now, Taz, I trade a planner, urban planner.
Curious, are urban planners trained in universal design and accessible development?
What is, is there some lacking of knowledge in that field?
So I would say there are definitely gaps there.
Like urban planning is often thought about as the space between buildings.
So we were just talking about the building code that's kind of maybe
more a matter for architects. Whereas when we think about urban planning, one
of the contributors in the book, Sarah Mantufel, is a planner working in
Winnipeg and she actually conducted research. So she did a scan of the
professional codes of practice for planners in Canada, the United States, Australia,
and the United Kingdom.
And there's very little language about disability,
but Canada actually shows up the worst
because the word disability isn't in those codes of conduct
for us in our profession here at all.
So you can imagine if it's not
in those foundational documents,
how do you develop the courses,
what is the basis for professional development?
All right, I wanna chat a little bit about transportation.
One of the chapters in this book looks directly at accessibility on the TTC here in Toronto.
What are the accessibility issues on public transit as it is right now in the city?
When we're thinking of public transit, I mean, there are sort of multiple systems running in
parallel in Toronto. We have Wheel Trans, which is specialized door-to-door service
for people with disabilities and then sometimes that integrates into the bus
service or the subway services. Not all of the subway stations are accessible
and you know even stations that are accessible sometimes you need
to use multiple elevators to get between street level and platform level or
between different platforms. So there are definitely physical barriers in terms
of getting around the subway and then you know other things like frequency
does the bus route that you need run often enough that you can get to your
appointments or get to work? How far in advance do you need run often enough that you can get to your appointments or
get to work. How far in advance do you need to call to get a Wheel-Trans ride?
You know, what is that window that the Wheel-Trans bus is going to wait for you?
And what happens if you forgot your code upstairs? You know, different things both
in terms of the hard infrastructure and the soft services that could be
different so that we can all get around and get where we need to go.
In this chapter about the TTC and transit in particular, it's kind of interesting because
the people that were involved were kind of talking about being the guinea pigs for accessibility
in the TTC.
But what was interesting was that there was a story where disability advocates tried to
get the TTC CEOs at the time to understand the challenges.
What did they do?
Mazen Aribi writes about his experiences with the Advisory Committee for Accessible Transportation.
And one of the things that he did with multiple TTC leaders was offer them the opportunity
to spend a day with him using a wheelchair and going through that system that I was just describing.
So using conventional buses, using Wheelchairs and using the subway as a way to see sort
of like what are those bumps along the road that you're encountering when you're trying
to transfer between vehicles and get between stations.
So I think you know really valuable relationship building experience to give a perspective
for people who may not
have had to sort of think through every step in the process.
Do we know how that that unfolded? How did it go? Because I am curious, you know,
former TTC CEO Andy Byford, you know, doesn't require a wheelchair to get
around and I'm curious if there was maybe some pushback around, you know,
putting someone who didn't require a wheelchair in a wheelchair to
experience what it was like.
So I think Andy Byford is one of the people
who did say yes to that invite and go for the experience.
I think that one of the things that he noticed
was just that passengers can be really inconsiderate
in terms of just brushing by and not giving people the space that they need to use and maneuver
while they're getting on and off the subway for instance.
But you know I think one of the great things about this book is that we bring together chapters and ideas that sometimes contrast.
So another of our writers, Jonathan Lepke, brings together research and shows that some of these simulations to sort of try on disability for a day aren't necessarily the best way to build empathy or create systemic change because
of course disability isn't a costume. I can't take it off at the end of the day and so maybe
that's a starting point but of course having these more in-depth conversations, spending time with a
chapter is another way to sort of learn more and think about how it impacts your life and your decisions. Very good. All right, I want to read another little snippet. It reads, more than half
a million disabled Canadians consider themselves housebound and winter conditions are one contributing
factor. In Toronto, the inconsistent maintenance of sidewalks on residential streets creates a
perverse incentive against walking or riding around the city's densest neighborhoods
Each winter instead of visiting friends or attending events thousands of torontonians are stuck at home
Out of fear that the sidewalks we rely upon are not safe connections to our destinations
All right
So one chapter in this book focuses on one particular night where you and your brother are
Off to get some Thai food lovely food, you had a great time, but what happens when
you're heading home? So this is back in 2017 and I'm sort of recollecting on
some of my experiences of winter which is my favorite season. I actually love
snow. But as we were heading back from the restaurant my brother uses a
wheelchair and he got stuck in the snow in front of someone's house
that hadn't been fully shoveled.
And it was really scary.
He couldn't move forward.
He couldn't move backward.
It was really hard to know what to do in that situation.
And that was because every single individual property
owner was responsible for digging out the area
in front of their house after every snowstorm. I should say that that has changed since then so
that happened in 2017 and at the end of 2021 Toronto introduced that there would be sort of
publicly funded snow shoveling services for all sidewalks not just sort of the wider easier to
plow sidewalks but Toronto is really an outlier because when the press release for that new
program was announced back in 2021, it was saying, you know, Toronto is joining
Ottawa and Montreal in terms of taking this approach.
What about Halifax?
What about Edmonton?
You know, anywhere this side of the Rockies, we get snow in the winters.
And that means a whole bunch of people are at risk for not being able
to just get out the door.
I want to make sure people understand that this wasn't just, you know, someone who didn't
shovel their sidewalk and it's an inconvenience to you.
This was for you and your brother really, you know, having to really think about how
to get out of it.
Can you walk me through a little bit about that?
Because it's, you know, having to trace your steps backwards. I think when you were talking about the story, it added a significant amount back, which is a
short distance really from home, but these small little things are not as small as we think.
That's a really good point. I think, you know, we didn't go far away to grab our dinner and we were
sort of stuck in that snow for quite a long time. My brother's a really good driver,
and he's capable of problem solving
using his electric wheelchair,
so he was looking for different ways to adjust his angle.
I asked permission to sort of try to give him
a boost from behind.
You know, that wasn't working,
and so it's an example of neighbors
not looking out for each other
and systems not being in place so that everyone can simply get from one end of the block to the other.
All right. The Wellesley Institute recently released data showing that it costs about $62,000 for a single working age adult to thrive in the city of Toronto.
For an adult with a disability, they estimate that cost is up to 32% more.
What makes living in a city more expensive
for people with disabilities?
All kinds of factors that we can get into.
And I think I'd also just say, you know,
we're talking about a large number of people.
That same report from the Wellesley Institute
says about a million Torontonians
are living with some kind of disability.
And so, you know, impacts on costs
can include food preparation.
We have a chapter in the book about depression, and when you're dealing with really limited
energy, you know, less capacity to do things like cook meals.
And so, you know, does that mean that you're maybe buying prepared foods, which could be
more expensive, or getting grocery deliveries, which also has a cost?
There is the topic of incontinence which
is uncomfortable but Dorothea Ellen Palmer has a really brave chapter about
adult diapers and anyone who gives birth is at risk of you know later in life
having changes to bladder capacity and then maybe you're just doing a lot more
laundry and you know in my rental building in Toronto since I moved in the
cost of laundry has doubled. That's not loads for everyone,
but when you're living on a fixed income
and when you're having to do multiple loads of laundry
a week, that does add up.
All right, I think I know the answer to this question,
but I think it's important to ask.
In this province, we have the Ontario
Disability Support Program.
Is it enough to provide for people
living with disabilities?
So the Ontario Disability Support Program, you
know, that's about $1,400 a month for a single person and there are people who
have been much more involved in this than me for a much longer time who
have described this form of income support as legislated poverty and, you
know, similar criticisms can be applied across the country in terms of these are
rates of so-called social assistance
that are set by our elected governments,
but that are far below the poverty threshold.
And there are other punitive measures
in terms of the possibility to earn income on top of that
or the types of assets and income
that your partner can have.
So it creates a really challenging situation.
One of the things that we saw particularly during
the pandemic was an influx of people leaving the city.
And I'm curious, that is not an easy thing to do
for a lot of people.
I'm just curious, why can't people with disabilities
just move to rural places where there are lower costs
of living?
I would also say that people with disabilities do move.
We've got a chapter in the book by Athena Cooper who moved from Vancouver to Calgary.
We've got a chapter by Shay Ehrlich who's kind of dreaming about leaving the city.
And so, you know, none of us is stuck in place regardless of our abilities or disabilities.
But, you know, I think that cities do create proximity
in terms of the distance to, whether it's a grocery store
or other types of services,
and then we all have our own networks of relationships.
And so as much as I might dream about another city,
well, my friends are here, I value my neighbors,
and we do all help each other out
in a way that can't be quantified,
especially for people who are living on a fixed income or who need help with some of those less formal day-to-day
tasks like, for example, cooking.
All right.
I want to come back to the connection aspect.
Many contributors in this book talk about connecting with other activists on social media.
How has the online environment changed disability advocacy?
I think that those online connections have been a great way to share ideas and also vent
frustrations. I think of hashtags like AODA fail, so that's some provincial legislation
or everyday ableism just kind of calling out the comments that many of us receive. But
then also it can be a space to just
sort of share interests and joy that is like above and beyond or I guess I could
say separate from activism things like wildlife photography you know Nick Steenhout
is part of a wrote a chapter about the ways that he finds birds and takes
photos in all kinds of beautiful areas and also the online communities that he
has formed that is sort of separate from advocating for better accessibility, whether
that's in building websites or designing physical spaces.
Alright, my last question to you, what will it take to get policymakers to prioritize
making cities accessible?
I think I would say prioritization starts with slowing down and learning the basics.
So I'm really glad that we did talk about some of the language as part of this conversation.
I think too often people are scared to talk about disability because they don't want to
say the wrong thing.
And so become comfortable with those terms.
Think about who in your life you could talk to to learn more.
And think about what decisions you could hand over,
what power you could seed,
so that people who have this expertise,
people who know about disability and accessibility,
can be the ones to have the final say.
Emily, we're gonna leave it there.
Thank you so much.
Fantastic collection of reads there.
Really appreciate all the work you do.
Thanks so much for having me.