Planning for Disability in the City of Johannesburg

This chapter assesses the mobility patterns of people living with disabilities (PLWD), taking into account issues of accessibility and inclusiveness of the City of Johannesburg to this community of people. The City of Johannesburg is one of the oldest in South Africa, its development largely influenced by the goldfields. The magnetic effect of gold mining continues to attract people within and beyond its borders even in contemporary times – making it one of the highly populated and developed cities in Africa and beyond. Hence Johannesburg is not only home to diverse population groups, but also exhibits high levels of various forms of inequalities. Therefore, the choice of Johannesburg for this study provides a useful platform to analyse the city from different perspectives. In the context of this book, the city provides evidence on the challenges faced by PLWD in South Africa through the window of infrastructure provided in public facilities such as commercial and recreational areas. The chapter emphasizes the need for context-specific responses to re-establish a sense of security and promote inclusion and accessibility in the City of Johannesburg. Hence, the findings in this report will support local governments, and other relevant authorities, in identifying priority issues and developing strategies to include PLWD in urban spaces to ensure sustainable and inclusive cities. In addition, these findings provide a platform upon which informed and coherent urban policy development and cross-institutional cooperation on inclusiveness in South African cities and beyond can be achieved.