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ERIC Number: EJ774060
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-4676
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Disability, Technology, and Compromises with Reality
Fleischer, Doris Zames
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, v27 n5 p373-376 2007
Because of New York City's proximity to water, edifices were built with one step as a barrier to potential flooding. The increase in the disability population made it evident that this step formed a barrier to people who could not negotiate level changes, especially those in wheelchairs and motorized scooters. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that new construction be accessible to people with disabilities and that older buildings be altered when such accessibility is "readily achievable." The problem is that except for people with disabilities filing legal complaints when the ADA is violated, there is no other enforcement mechanism. Also, New York City's narrow streets allow too little space for compliant ramps. This article describes how disability activists and government representatives created a model for accessibility that allowed for informal agreements and solutions that, although not always strictly compliant with the law, served the actual needs of the disability population. (Contains 10 notes.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Americans with Disabilities Act 1990
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A