The power of movement

You put on your coat, grab your bag and walk out the door. Without thinking twice. Just popping to the supermarket, the bus stop or for a walk in the park. But what if every kerb, crossing or roadwork suddenly became major obstacles?

For people who depend on a wheelchair, walker or other mobility aid, mobility is anything but a given. It's not just about covering distance, but also about healthy physical activity, freedom and independence. How accessible is our society really?

Movement scientist Riemer Vegter is investigating this question together with colleagues from the UMCG and the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. The project, Disabled City, is funded by the M20 programme of the Ubbo Emmius Fund. The researchers are looking at the influence of aids, physical strain and infrastructure on the freedom of movement of people with disabilities.

Accessibility is more than technology

Accessibility is often expressed in numbers: how wide a door is, how steep a bridge is, how many lifts a building has. But according to Vegter, mobility is much more complex than that.

‘Mobility is not just about measuring and planning,’ he explains. ‘It's about freedom. About feeling welcome somewhere. A wheelchair user may be able to reach a bus stop on paper, but if the pavement is full of bumps or the bus driver doesn't take the time to help, that's not real accessibility in practice.’

That is why the researchers are not only looking at infrastructure, but also at how people actually move around in their environment. Which routes do they choose? Where do they get stuck, and why?

To find out, they conduct so-called walk-along interviews: conversations while participants move through their own living environment. By combining GPS data, observations and personal conversations, the researchers gain a better understanding of the barriers they face and choices people make.

Mobility varies per municipality

Another important factor is municipal policy. In the Netherlands, municipalities are responsible for providing mobility aids, such as wheelchairs.

‘You would expect every municipality to make the same choices based on the same information,’ says Vegter. ‘But in practice, we see major differences.’

With his research, he wants to offer municipalities tools to make better-informed decisions that promote healthy mobility. ‘Sometimes you can improve something on the aid side, sometimes on the public space side,’ he explains. ‘Ultimately, that's better for the user and for society.’

Freedom of movement is personal

What someone needs to feel free varies greatly from person to person. Some want to navigate a shopping centre with ease, while others seek out nature.

‘There is no standard solution for mobility,’ emphasises Vegter. ‘Some people need a lightweight wheelchair to be fast and manoeuvrable, others need a robust model for rougher terrain. But above all, it's about people retaining control over their own mobility.’

This requires a different way of thinking about accessibility: not from a technical checklist, but from the experiences and needs of users themselves. ‘Just because someone can get somewhere doesn't mean it's easy, pleasant, or stress-free.’

Research that leads to change

The aim of Disabled City is not only to identify problems, but also to offer solutions. By linking new insights to urban planning and assistive technology policies, local authorities can make the living environment truly more accessible.

‘Our research is intended to bring about change,’ says Vegter. ‘Accessibility should not only be well organised on paper, but also genuinely experienced by the people who depend on it.’

At the same time, he remains realistic about the scale of the issue. ‘This research is a small piece of a much larger puzzle. Mobility should not be a luxury, but a matter of course.’

This project is funded by the Ubbo Emmius Fund and part of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health. 

Text: Djoeke Bakker
Image: Reyer Boxem