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Implementing accessibility in municipal planning — planners’ view

Author

Listed:
  • Wennberg, Hanna

    (Lund University; Sweden)

  • Ståhl, Agneta

    (Lund University; Sweden)

  • Hydén, Christer

    (Lund University; Sweden)

Abstract

Accessibility in public outdoor environments for those with reduced functional capacity has been gaining interest on both the international and national levels. This study investigates how accessibility issues are currently treated in Swedish municipalities in order to examine how older peoples’ accessibility needs are met in daily practice. A postal questionnaire was sent to all municipalities in Sweden (N=290) with questions mainly regarding three categories: (1) existence of policies and planning documents, cooperation with interest organizations, and measures implemented, (2) awareness and use of governmental directives and recommendations relevant for accessibility issues and (3) statements of how accessibility issues are treated among municipal politicians and employees as perceived by the respondent. In the data analysis, a quantitative ranking of each one of the three categories was created using questions from the questionnaire to indicate the level of accessibility implemented in municipal planning. The results show a large variation in the accessibility standard among the municipalities in Sweden. In municipalities that have planning documents, e.g. accessibility plan, accessibility issues are treated more positively among the municipal politicians and employees. This positive relationship with the treatment of accessibility was also found with factors such as municipalities have an accessibility adviser employed, municipalities cooperate with senior organizations, and municipalities use governmental directives and recommendations relevant for accessibility issues. This paper concludes that although there is still much to do to accomplish a society accessible to all citizens, a majority of the Swedish municipalities are nevertheless positive to accessibility issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Wennberg, Hanna & Ståhl, Agneta & Hydén, Christer, 2009. "Implementing accessibility in municipal planning — planners’ view," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 2(2), pages 3-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:jtralu:0022
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ana Gil Solá & Bertil Vilhelmson, 2018. "Negotiating Proximity in Sustainable Urban Planning: A Swedish Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Gil Solá, Ana & Vilhelmson, Bertil & Larsson, Anders, 2018. "Understanding sustainable accessibility in urban planning: Themes of consensus, themes of tension," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1-10.
    3. Hallgrimsdottir, Berglind & Wennberg, Hanna & Svensson, Helena & Ståhl, Agneta, 2016. "Implementation of accessibility policy in municipal transport planning – Progression and regression in Sweden between 2004 and 2014," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 196-205.
    4. Steven Farber & Antonio Páez, 2010. "Employment status and commute distance of Canadians with disabilities," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 931-952, November.
    5. Wennberg, Hanna & Hydén, Christer & Ståhl, Agneta, 2010. "Barrier-free outdoor environments: Older peoples' perceptions before and after implementation of legislative directives," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 464-474, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Accessibility; Older pedestrian; Planning; Policy; Practice; Municipality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

    Statistics

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