Buildings, Vol. 16, Pages 2731: Disability in the Built Environment: A Scoping Review

Buildings, Vol. 16, Pages 2731: Disability in the Built Environment: A Scoping Review

Buildings doi: 10.3390/buildings16142731

Authors:
Venus Azamnia
Ashley Shew
Kereshmeh Afsari

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 16% of people all over the world, which is 1.3 billion people, have significant disability. Disability can happen to all people during their life. The built environment has an important effect on disabled people’s lives. This paper maps the literature on disability in the built environment, describes each category, and suggests new research directions using a disability studies lens while highlighting key emphases and gaps. Drawing from two databases, WoS and Scopus, a scoping review was conducted. Searching these databases using combinations of built environment and disability keywords yielded 1292 results. After rounds of screening, this paper uses thematic analysis to map and categorize the literature based on 172 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters. Four categories identified in the literature include: (1) accessibility, (2) health and safety, (3) employment, and (4) education. Based on this scoping review and analysis, this paper identifies research gaps and future directions and demonstrates how insights from disability studies can be integrated into research on the built environment. This review is the first to address the broad question of the categories of research that have been conducted on disability in the built environment. Using a disability studies lens, we explain how future research can be conducted and illustrate the gaps and areas of emphasis in the existing literature. This review can be helpful for both policymakers and scholars by improving understanding of the existing body of literature and shaping future research.