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Visual Impairment in the City: Young People’s Social Strategies for Independent Mobility

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  • Nancy Worth

Abstract

This article examines the mobility strategies that visually impaired (VI) young people employ as they negotiate their daily lives in the city. In contrast to research which foregrounds difficulties navigating the built environment, the article provides new insights into how VI young people engage with the city as a social space, arguing that VI young people’s goal of achieving ‘unremarkable’ mobility is constrained by an ableist society that constantly marks them out, frustrating goals of independent mobility which are important to young people’s transitions to adulthood. Drawing on young people’s narratives, three mobility strategies of young people are examined: concealing VI with friends, performing VI with white canes and travelling with guide dogs. Each is evaluated for its potential to help VI young people achieve identities as ‘competent spatial actors'.

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  • Nancy Worth, 2013. "Visual Impairment in the City: Young People’s Social Strategies for Independent Mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(3), pages 574-586, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:50:y:2013:i:3:p:574-586
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098012468898
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    1. Marston, James R. & Golledge, Reginald G. & Costanzo, C. Michael, 1997. "Investigating travel behavior of nondriving blind and vision impaired people: The role of public transit," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9gb6d4b4, University of California Transportation Center.
    2. Nancy Worth, 2009. "Making Use of Audio Diaries in Research with Young People: Examining Narrative, Participation and Audience," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 14(4), pages 77-87, September.
    3. Rob Imrie, 2000. "Disability and Discourses of Mobility and Movement," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 32(9), pages 1641-1656, September.
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    1. Yu, Hong & Tullio-Pow, Sandra & Akhtar, Ammar, 2015. "Retail design and the visually impaired: A needs assessment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 121-129.
    2. Wong, Sandy, 2018. "The limitations of using activity space measurements for representing the mobilities of individuals with visual impairment: A mixed methods case study in the San Francisco Bay Area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 300-308.

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