Influence of the built environment on community mobility of people living with visual disabilities: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

Understanding how the outdoor environment shapes the community mobility of people with visual disabilities is key to designing an accessible public realm and facilitating their rights to use outdoor spaces. A scoping review was conducted to explore 1) What aspects of the built environment affect the community mobility of persons with visual disabilities? and 2) How does the built environment affect the community mobility of persons with visual disabilities? Forty-three peer-reviewed publications from 2000 to 2022 were included after conducting database searches, screening of articles, and data charting. Studies focused on micro-environmental features related to sidewalks and crosswalks (e.g. landmarks, curbs, curb ramps, tactile warning/guiding surfaces, and accessible pedestrian signals), and broad environmental factors (e.g. neighbourhood amenities and street layout) and their influence on orientation, wayfinding, and safety. The paper discusses the role of the built environment in 1) posing barriers to outdoor mobility (e.g. potholes, poorly designed curb cuts, obstacles at waist-height or eye-level, poor lighting, inadequate pedestrian signal, complicated street layout), and 2) offering cues (e.g. visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, kinaesthetic) for spatial perception and navigation. Focusing on how the built environment shapes community mobility is necessary to enhance accessibility through urban planning and design and assistive technology.

KEYWORDS:

• Community mobility
• built environment
• visual disabilities
• blind
• partially sighted
• scoping review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study has been conducted in the SWAN (Stakeholders’ walkability/wheelability audit in neighbourhoods) project, which is part of the larger project Mobility, Accessibility and Participation (MAP) among people with disabilities, which is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).