Living environment evaluation by persons with lower-limb impairment and their strategies to access activity opportunities in the early developed area of Tama New Town, Japan

Abstract

This article examines the relation between the contemporary urban environment and disability as a deprivation of life implementation of persons with physical impairments, through a survey of actions by which persons with lower-limb impairment secure access to various activity opportunities within the early developed area of Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan. The results of qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented below. Persons with lower-limb impairment who were interviewed in this study uniformly perceived steep slopes and stairs in staircase-style apartments and other buildings as barriers to their activities. Those who suffered impairment of limb functions after moving to the study area, in particular, experienced a shift in their perception of the built environment, from a safe and comfortable environment while they were of sound body, to a barrier after experiencing physical impairment. This experience suggests that Tama New Town is an urban space designed for able-bodied people. While living in an urban space full of barriers, the surveyed individuals have restructured their life space to enable going out by 1) restructuring the relation between physical abilities and the environment by improving the built environment (change of home and barrier-free implementation) and utilizing effective ambulatory aids and means of transport (motorized ambulatory aids and personal cars); and 2) accepting the assistance of others. However, the validity of these actions is conditioned by the ownership of fixed property and goods, the stages of family life cycle and social network development, and the embodied knowledge and information about living in that area. In the study area, to enable a home entry/exit in a medium-rise, staircase-style apartment forces people into moving from the current living area, with a high likelihood of rending useless existing resources that contribute to an enabling life space, such as the social network and knowledge. This is due to the fact that there is no assurance of relocation within the same neighborhood. However, continuing to live in their current home also means the continuation of barriers to home entry/exit. In the fragmented life space that results if such a dilemma cannot be resolved, persons with physical impairment are likely to be deprived of their life implementation.