Access and Mobility in Milton Keynes: An Inclusive Design History where Urban Planning Ideals and Design Intent Meet Disability Politics

Abstract

This paper offers the first inclusive design history of Milton Keynes, examining how the accessibility of Milton Keynes was conceived at the time it was planned and designed. Prompted by the recollection at interview that people with disabilities were encouraged to live in Milton Keynes because it was accessible, the foundations of this claim are explored through walkabouts, oral histories and documentary evidence. The study reveals ‘ease of movement and access’ as one of Milton Keynes’ planning goals and The Open University as the location for foundational arguments that shaped the social construction of disability. It is remarkable that the social model of disability and the injustice of inaccessibility surfaced in a city that was designed to enable mobility and access, although Milton Keynes in the 1970s is remembered as a place that attracted designers, academics, and activists interested in a more equitable future.