Participants also report that disabling barriers make life in the city feel dangerous. Previous studies have documented an increased risk of fatal accidents, traffic injuries, hospitalizations, and collisions for people with disabilities, and participants in this research project likewise described experiencing a higher risk of slipping, falling, tipping over, being hit by vehicles, or otherwise getting injured when navigating a world where their needs are not considered in the design of urban spaces and infrastructure. 

Participant Experiences of Navigating in the City

Moving around the city can involve significant mental and emotional labor: worries and concerns, planning and preparation with limitations, and an increased risk of dangerous situations are among these issues. Based on participants’ experiences and statements, the analysis indicates that disabling barriers in the urban environment shape how people with disabilities encounter a world that requires preparation, (2) imposes limitations, and (3) feels dangerous.

University of North Texas

The participants represented a wide range of diverse disabilities, including physical, psychological, cognitive, and sensory variations, and included, among others, users of wheelchairs, walkers, and canes, parents with strollers, people with anxiety, social anxiety, or PTSD, people with reading difficulties, dyslexia, or autism, as well as people with impaired vision, blindness, deafness, or particular sensory sensitivities to, for example, sound, light, or smells. Participants ranged in age from 28 to 82. 

Barriers in Urban Spaces from the participants

Nielsen, C. H. (2026). ‘Although it’s a path, it still feels like an enclosure’ .– experiences with disabling barriers in urban spaces. Disability & Society, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2026.2659093

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