On living in an ableist city: before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The images of cities before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic represent a contemporary challenge. During this period, thinking about being a person, being there and living in an ableist city/society brings to light the loss of rights and the demands of population segments, particularly in the face of architectural, communicational, attitudinal, sensory and sociocultural barriers. To thematize about experiencing the different types of daily inaccessibility in the cities come into contact with and raise discussions about the ethical-aesthetic level of the existential territories of people with disabilities and mental suffering. To what extent do urban planners maintain concepts that support invisibility constructs, which reflect segregations generated by macropolitics? Would they be imagining the cities without thinking about the people who inhabit them? The present essay collaborates with the debate on the need for actions aimed at overcoming capacitism. Based on critical science theories and the concept of the health subject’s right, the “topic landscape” is explored with a view to implementing accessible and inclusive public policies.