Impact of lived experiences of people with disabilities in the built environment in South Africa

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Impact of lived experiences of people with disabilities in the built environment in South Africa
 
Creator McKinney, Victor Amosun, Seyi L.
 
Subject Disability Studies people with disabilities; lived experiences; built environment; challenge; South Africa
Description Background: In spite of legislations and policies to ensure an inclusive society in South Africa for the accommodation of people with disabilities, there are reports that they still struggle to move freely within society.Objectives: As part of a larger qualitative exploratory study on the preparation of undergraduate civil engineering students in a local university to contribute to the development of an inclusive society, this article seeks to understand the impact of the lived experiences of people with disabilities in their interaction with the built environment.Method: Four persons with disabilities, considered to be knowledgeable about South African legislations relating to disability, were purposely selected to each share one specific experience whilst interacting with the built environment. The transcribed texts of the interviews were analysed by using the phenomenological–hermeneutic method.Results: The participants exhibited strong desires to participate in society. However, the sense of loss of control and independence as they encountered challenges in the built environment changed the euphoria to disempowerment, rejection, anger and despondency. In spite of their experiences, participants expressed a commitment towards overcoming the challenges encountered in the broader interest of people with disabilities.Conclusion: A deeper understanding of the impact of the experiences of people with disabilities when they participate within the built environment in South Africa revealed a broad spectrum of negative emotions, which may impact the quality of life and well-being of the participants.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Harry Crossley Foundation Tshikululu Trust
Date 2020-08-06
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qualitative case study, analysed using the phenomenological-hermeneutic method
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v9i0.518
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 9 (2020); 11 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/518/1388 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/518/1387 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/518/1389 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/518/1386
 
Coverage South Africa 2010-2017 38-50 years old, 3 male and 1 female, educted white middle class
Rights Copyright (c) 2020 Victor McKinney, Seyi L. Amosun https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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