First year geographers explore disabled access in Northampton town centre

First year Geography students have recently been putting their fieldwork skills to the test by auditing disabled access in Northampton town centre.

Thinking about possible barriers to access

The exercise is part of a series of classes on 'geographies of disabilities', which aims to help students to think critically about the ways in which people encounter everyday spaces.

Learning how to measure slope angles.

The students reviewed various spaces in the town centre, comparing a range of measurements (e.g. slope angle, width of paths) and observations (e.g. colour contrast) with published guidance on accessibility.

Students assess wheelchair access on campus

First year Geography students have been carrying out fieldwork to evaluate the accessibility of Avenue Campus for wheelchair users. This relates to work carried out in class on 'geographies of disability'. Before conducting the exercise, students had the opportunity to interview members of the University's Wheelchair Basketball team, to find out more about the experiences of wheelchair users.

Dilan, Sharan, George, Aimee and James reviewing wheelchair access at Avenue Campus

Working in groups, students have taken a 30-minute walk with a wheelchair around an everyday route on campus. Everyone has had an opportunity to push, and be pushed in, the wheelchair. During the walk, students made fieldnotes reflecting upon how familiar everyday spaces can look and feel very different from the perspective of a wheelchair user.

Students then measured footpath and corridor widths, kerb heights, and slope gradients. These measurements were compared to Department for Transport guidance about accessible pedestrian environments.

Each group is now working hard to prepare an annotated map and summary of their key findings, ready for assessment. This exercise is designed to help students engage with recent academic research about geographies of disabilities. The project also provides a wealth of data which is really valued by the University of Northampton, as we seek to make the campus an accessible and inclusive place for all.

University Wheelchair Basketball team attend Geography class to discuss accessibility issues on campus

Big thanks to Brian, Gianluca and Kieran from the University of Northampton Wheelchair Basketball team, who visited today’s first year Geography class to share experiences of using a wheelchair on campus.

 

Members of UoN Wheelchair Basketball Team, telling first year Geographers about their experiences of university life.

It was really helpful to hear first-hand experiences of university life from the perspective of wheelchair users. For example, we learnt about:

·         long routes and delays involved in getting around buildings;

·         stress and hazards caused by inconsiderately parked bikes and cars;

·         frustrations caused by blocked doorways, congested corridors, and engaged disabled toilets;

·         experiences of feeling ‘pitied’, ‘stereotyped’ and ‘patronised’;

·         the hard physical effort involved in getting across campus in a wheelchair;

·         the challenges and dangers of everyday activities like buying a coffee and pastry!

The discussion will be really useful to students preparing to research wheelchair accessibility for a forthcoming assignment.  This links to a series of classes all about geographies of disability.

We also heard about the excellent opportunities to get involved in volunteering, sport, exercise and/or fundraising with the Wheelchair Basketball team. Hopefully some students will be inspired to get involved. For information and contact details click here: https://www.facebook.com/UoNWheelieBBall