Mapping Access: A Tool for Social Change

Access for disabled people can be mapped for several purposes, using different methods and tools. After briefly reviewing some of them, this article shows how mapping access can serve not only to provide useful information, or to delve into the complex meaning of access, but also as a tool for social change. Through the analysis of a case study – a collaborative, emancipatory action research, carried out by a group of disabled people – the main methodological issues to be considered in mapping projects are listed. The dilemmas discussed concern choices about the people to involve, the sample, the digital tools, the features to map, the tension between describing and evaluating access, and the role ascribed to access law. Through this discussion, useful guidance is provided for researchers who design mapping projects. In conclusion, this paper examines how the public display of maps concerning access can foster social change, engaging local media and politicians. In particular, it is suggested that the availability of data on barriers may influence the discourses about the feasibility of access.