Abstract

This research has been made to investigate the accessibility of the disabled people living in Ankara to the built environment and their problems and priorities with respect to participation to urban life and to what extent they can share urban life. The study made on the basis of a survey covers visually-impaired and walking-impaired people as well as those dependent on wheelchairs. The evaluations have provided information relevant to the problems that the disabled people face with respect to accessibility to the built environment, their usage of the built environment and participation to social life and their priorities in this respect. Findings of the research show that the disabled people face many physical barriers in accessing the built environment, that the barriers existing in the urban environment limit the individual's independent movement on his/her own and that this hinders disabled people's social communication and causes them feel excluded. It is expected that the results of this study would contribute to development of social consciousness with respect to disabled people's equal participation to social life specifically in Ankara and to removal of the reasons excluding the disabled people from social life and would also guide the efforts in this respect, of individuals, institutions and public bodies who give shape to cities.

Key words: Disability, urban accessibility, physical barriers, Ankara.