Transportation and Mobility

Democratic ownership of a city is realized when all its inhabitants can exercise their right to freely access public spaces, including parks, streets, sidewalks and government buildings. In the Arab region, persons with disabilities often face societal stigma, isolation or institutionalization, hindering their ability to effectively interact with the urban environment. Accessibility barriers for persons with disabilities in public spaces and transportation systems can be either physical (stair access, high curbs and narrow doorways) or intangible (ostracization, harassment and stigmatization).  Lack of accommodation and accessibility augments the operational limitations of persons with health conditions: according to the bio-psycho-social model, disability is a result of the societal and environmental elements that hinder an individual (with a health condition) from interacting fully with his or her surroundings.[1] In that sense, two people with the same medical condition could have vastly different capabilities depending on their environments, making the city an active determinant of an individual's ability to participate fully in society.

Several Arab cities have made impressive strides towards urban inclusivity. The “My Community … A City for Everyone” initiative was launched in Dubai in 2013 to make the emirate more inclusive and completely accessible to persons with disabilities by 2020.[2]  Launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, the initiative focuses on improving physical accessibility and on raising awareness of disability to alleviate societal stigma by promoting equal opportunities, maintaining social cohesion, building social capital and eliminating social exclusion. The campaign is carried out in conjunction with the Dubai Disability Strategy 2020, launched in 2015 to provide equal rights and services to persons with disabilities by addressing disability through the five main pillars of education, health care, employment, social protection and universal accessibility.[3]

One of the most visible tenants of the initiative is the transformation of transport methods to accommodate persons with disabilities.[4] The Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) is a regional pioneer in that regard, outfitting metros, public buses, taxis, marine transport and roads to fit the needs of persons with disabilities. Metro facilities include wheelchair-accessible ticket booths, lifts and special handrails, Braille and tactile guiding paths, audio-visual cautionary signs and designated parking near main station entrances for persons with disabilities, while marine transport includes wheelchair-designated areas and trained crew assistance.[5] RTA trains its employees to provide better services to persons with disabilities; for example, in 2016, it had more than a dozen staff members specializing in sign language.[6]

Spatial, social and economic inclusion are all critical to building sustainable urban environments, which requires providing affordable access to critical infrastructure such as water, housing, electricity and transportation, in addition to giving all inhabitants equal rights and opportunities to participate in economic growth. The level of mobility and autonomy of persons with disabilities in cities is directly linked to the inclusivity of their surroundings. Features such as ramps, accessible transportation and audible pedestrian signals can significantly alleviate the level of disability of an individual by eliminating common environmental barriers. For persons with disabilities, mobility can be an equalizer, allowing autonomous access to health care, jobs, schools, leisure and markets.[7]

Facing already overburdened infrastructure, many Governments in the Arab region have not been able to prioritize transportation inclusivity in line with target 11.2 because of capacity or budget limitations. In a 2016 study, the Middle East ranked fifth of eight regions worldwide in the sustainability of urban public transportation.[8] Researchers looked at environmental, social, economic and system effectiveness indicators in seven Middle Eastern cities[9] and found that, compared with other regions, they were especially lacking in the social and environmental realms.[10] The main sub-indicators used to measure the social sustainability of public transportation were system accessibility, average user trip distance and affordability, all of which can disproportionately affect persons with disabilities, many of whom struggle with mobility and disability-related financial burdens.[11] A study by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Social Affairs found that 76.4 per cent of Palestinians with disabilities did not use public transportation because of a lack of accommodating facilities, while a survey by the Moroccan Ministry of Family, Solidarity, Equality and Social Development revealed that 74.3 per cent of Moroccans with disabilities were either unable to access public transport or found difficulty in accessing it.[12] In the Gaza Strip, the charity Interpal is working to counter those issues by mobilizing a fleet of 10 wheelchair-accessible vehicles that transport persons with mobility disabilities to school, work and hospital on a pay-as-you-can basis.[13]

While the Arab megacity of Cairo, the largest urban centre in the region, has made significant strides towards improving urban infrastructure in recent years, accessibility to public spaces and transport requires further development.[14] The Cairo metro, opened in 1987, has step gaps between the carriages and the platform that hinder persons with wheelchairs, and many buses lack wheelchair ramps.[15] Some of the most popular sites in Egypt, including Luxor, Aswan, the inside of the pyramids and Muizz Street, are inaccessible to persons in wheelchairs, and pavements and public buildings are generally difficult to navigate without assistance.[16] However, inclusivity initiatives in the private and non-governmental sectors have been increasing in number. For example, in 2017, the Helm Foundation, an Egyptian non-governmental organization, launched an awareness campaign to highlight accessibility issues and raise money to make the area around Cairo University more disability-friendly. The campaign also addresses the intangible side of accessibility, such as stigma and a lack of public dialogue, which can be as prohibitive to an inclusive environment as physical barriers.[17]

The Moroccan Government has taken steps to improve physical inclusivity around the country. In 2017, 17.5 kilometres of boulevards in Marrakech were modified to make them accessible to persons with limited mobility, as were two public buildings and five public spaces.[18] Several other Moroccan cities have incorporated accessibility into their future infrastructure and transportation programmes, while others have identified their accessibility needs to potentially follow the example of Marrakech.


[1]   World Health Organization, World Report on Disability, 2011. Available from http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70670/WHO_NMH_VIP_11.01_eng.pdf;jsessionid=CD3D40C277EB1135D09256A84AC9C7F5?sequence=1

[2]   Government of Dubai, Launching a community-wide campaign to strengthen the status of every person as part of "My Community... A City for Everyone" Initiative, 2016. Available from http://tec.gov.ae/en/media-centre/press-releases/2016/within-a-community-place-for-all-initiative-a-community-wide-campaign-to-promote-the-status-of-everyones-efforts.

[3]   “No bed of roses”, The Economist, 9 June 2016. Available from https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21700399-parks-are-disappearing-throughout-arab-world-no-bed-roses.

[4]   “Dubai's transport authority trains its staff to help the disabled, The National, 30 June 2017. Available from https://www.thenational.ae/uae/dubai-s-transport-authority-trains-its-staff-to-help-the-disabled-1.93385.

[5]   Government of Dubai, People of Determination Landing Page.Available from https://www.rta.ae/eservices/PeopleOfDetermination/pod/en/landing.html.

[6]   “Dubai RTA displays just how disabled-friendly it is”, Khaleej Times, 16 March 2016. Available from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/transport/rta-displays-just-how-disabled-friendly-it-is.

[7]   “For persons with disabilities, accessible transport provides pathways to opportunity”, World Bank, 13 December 2013. Available from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/12/03/for-persons-with-disabilities-accessible-transport-provides-pathways-to-opportunity.

[8]   Chris De Gruyter, Graham Currie and Geoff Rose, Sustainability measures of urban public transport in cities: A world review and focus on the Asia/Middle East region, Sustainability, vol. 9, No. 1, 2016.

[9]   Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jerusalem, Tehran, Mashhad and Tel Aviv.

[10] Chris De Gruyter, Graham Currie and Geoff Rose, Sustainability measures of urban public transport in cities: A world review and focus on the Asia/Middle East region, Sustainability, vol. 9, No. 1, 2016.

[11] Ibid.

[12] ESCWA, Strengthening Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Arab Countries, 2017.

[13] “The 'Disabled Outreach Bus' project – Improving the lives of disabled people in Gaza”, Interpal, 14 August 2015. Available from https://www.interpal.org/20150814-the-disabled-outreach-bus-project-improving-the-lives-of-disabled-people-in-gaza/.

[14] Samir Shalabi, “New campaign seeks to make Egypt's streets more accessible for the disabled”, Egyptian Streets,
4 November 2017. Available from https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/11/03/new-campaign-seeks-to-make-egypts-streets-more-accessible-for-the-disabled/.

[15] Sarah ElMeshad, “Cairo by wheelchair: Navigating the city is almost impossible for people with disabilities”, Egypt Independent, 5 November 2012. Available from http://www.egyptindependent.com/cairo-wheelchair-navigating-city-almost-impossible-people-disabilities/.

[16] Samir Shalabi, “New campaign seeks to make Egypt's streets more accessible for the disabled”, Egyptian Streets,
4 November 2017.

[17] Sarah ElMeshad, “Cairo by wheelchair: Navigating the city is almost impossible for people with disabilities”, Egypt Independent, 5 November 2012.

[18] World Bank Group, Implementation completion memorandum, 31 January 2017.