In the article “Ableist Architecture,” access refers to the ability of disabled people to use appliances or get to different places in general. There may be difficulties for disabled people to go anywhere around the world because of how architecture was shaped for the majority of society, who do not have any disabilities. The architecture includes countertops, cobblestone streets, and antebellum architecture where a mansion has a lot of stairs.
Several solutions exist worldwide, such as laws enforced by the government, like the remote Eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude that has maintained an active anti-ableism right since the 1980s [1], or volunteer work by individuals of AccessNow by Maayan Ziv [1].
On the other hand, for the article “The Technology Gap,” access means having basic technology and knowing how to use it in households from high to low-income groups. In my opinion, this inequality in technology could widen the poverty gap. This is because generally people with higher incomes have access to better technology like smartphones and tablets, and thus a greater success in working more productively and finding jobs. As a result, there is lower unemployment for the higher income group, whereas the lower income groups would be left behind with low-skilled jobs. Therefore, I totally agree with “Early intervention is the key” [2] where subsidies are required to support low-income households early on for equality.
However, regarding changing existing structures to accommodate more people, I feel like it is extremely complicated to just change everything and help everyone around the world. First of all, it is difficult to do so, whether it is about the cost or time. Following this, helping disabled people means we should also consider helping other minorities to be ethical. For example, the issue of discrimination against people of color would need to be addressed. From an economic perspective, aiding minorities does encourage greater consumption and growth, such as more people visiting restaurants with accessibility features, but the extent of growth may seem minimal compared to the cost spent to adjust facilities and appliances for disabled people worldwide. As a result, businesses are now allowed to delay the ADA compliance penalty-free for efficiency. [1]
Yet, it is still unethical to leave parts of society behind, hence changes must be made so that both equality and economic growth could be improved. I suggest promotion for the AccessNow App worldwide to advocate the importance of accessibility in restaurants and shops for disabled people, where firms will compete with better accessibility for more customers. In order to support low-income households for using technology, the government could subsidize electronic manufacturing companies to produce cheaper electronic devices to those households for essential basic technology. Specifically, this “technology” should only include phones and wifi for basic communication in order to minimize cost.
Last but not least, I think we should help as much as possible, because doing something minor may seem easy for us, like adding a ramp for people in wheelchairs to reach a certain destination, but it means so significantly for others.
Citation:
[1] It’s Not Just about Straws: Ableist Design Is in the Architecture. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2018, from https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/navigating-through-ableist-architecture
[2] Costa, P. N. (2017, May 04). A technology gap between the rich and poor is deepening US inequality. Retrieved October 15, 2018, from https://www.businessinsider.com/technology-gap-deepening-us-inequality-2017-5