Table of contents:
Good Practices and Recommendations
Several Arab countries have made significant strides to improve the inclusivity of persons with disabilities in urban spaces in the region, in line with SDG 11. Arab cities can look to successful initiatives within the region for ideas of how to become more inclusive, including the following:
- Utilize civil society when government capacity is limited: invest in social organizations that can use resources more efficiently to address specific targets. Inclusionary measures should target persons without disabilities in awareness campaigns about persons with disabilities, which can help alleviate stigma and promote a popular consciousness of acceptance and inclusion. In Egypt, the non-profit organization Helm, in partnership with the Vodafone Egypt Foundation, has worked to improve accessibility for persons with limited mobility in the country. Under the Ramp Project, Helm has installed international standard-compliant ramps in over 100 facilities, simultaneously raising awareness about the challenges persons with limited mobility face on a daily basis.[1]
- Be proactive: legislate accessibility standards for all new buildings and transport methods to avoid having to retroactively outfit them later. In 2017, four Moroccan cities (Rabat, Tangier, Oujda and Casablanca) added accessibility standards for persons with limited mobility into their plans for future urban transport infrastructure projects.[2] Plans to improve accessibility in streets, pavements, public buildings and public transport were recently delineated in Jordanian Law No. 20 of 2017.[3] The plans include implementing accessibility standards on all public roads and buildings, installing tools that alert persons with visual impairments of road marks and potentially hazardous sites, and training traffic police and employees in the public transportation sector on how to communicate effectively with persons with disabilities, all to be completed within five years.
- Utilize popular feedback: disability service counters, such as those managed by the Dubai Road and Transport Authority, can help prioritize efforts that are most important to the public by providing easy and accessible methods for persons with disabilities to communicate with public service providers. Similarly, Accessible Qatar, a website and smart phone application, enables persons with disabilities in Qatar to check the level of accessibility of various public and touristic locations, utilizing user-submitted ratings and reviews.[4] Input from persons with disabilities is imperative to making sure efforts are as beneficial and efficient as possible.
- Ensure balance: appreciate environmental limitations and consider the provision of green spaces with realistic conditions, while recognizing the importance of green spaces to fostering inclusion and mental and physical health. Minimum spatial and accessibility requirements for green or natural spaces per urban inhabitant can encourage the incorporation of parks into the design of new neighbourhoods and the rebuilding of those destroyed by conflict. Distance standards to such areas would promote spatial equality, and encourage the inclusion of persons with mobility challenges.[5] Al Legtaifiya Park in Doha is an example of an inclusive public space: the park, built in 2017, has wheelchair-accessible play equipment that allows children of all levels of mobility to play together.[6]
[1] ENTALEQ, Ramp Project. Available from http://entaleq.helmegypt.org/en/news/VSJvqXpnic.
[2] World Bank Group, Implementation completion memorandum.
[3] Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2017, p.p. 1-49.
[4] Definitely Able, Accessible Qatar. Definitely Able. Available from http://www.definitelyable.com/project/accessible-qatar-2/.
[5] Nadeem Hashem, “Assessing spatial equality of urban green spaces provision: A case study of Greater Doha in Qatar”. Local Environment, vol. 20, No. 3, 2013.
[6] Sanaullah Ataullah, “First of its kind inclusive playground for disabled kids in Qatar”, The Peninsula Qatar,5 December 2017. Available from https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/05/12/2017/First-of-its-kind-inclusive-playground-for-disabled-kids-in-Qatar.