A Steps Towards Building Inclusive Infrastructure
People with disabilities are often left behind when it comes to access to infrastructure. The situation is not different in India, where the geography is so varied that defining inclusive infrastructure can be challenging. Nevertheless, the most pressing question is how to build an inclusive infrastructure in a country as large and populated as India. I am currently engaged in a dissertation project in which I am attempting to understand how to bridge the infrastructure gap among people with disabilities. In my project, I use both traditional data analysis and GIS tools to explore population, existing infrastructure, and geography to propose informed policy decisions, particularly relating to disability policies. Especially when it comes to building inclusive infrastructure, my work focused on identifying areas where there might be a need for evaluating, improving, and developing infrastructure.
Under this project, maps for each state and union territories will be created utilizing the latest census data.
This information when combined with an important infrastructure such as healthcare helps us understand the potential need vs availably.
This information also creates a pathway to identify, improve and develop secondary infrastructure such as roadways which could be crucial to access these facilities, especially for populations with disabilities.
Each country has their unique healthcare structure. This is true for India, with a majority of the population still living in the rural part, Primary health care centers & sub-centers often become their first contact for basic health care.
Why Study Disability in India?
Incomplete representation of people with disabilities in the developing countries including India.
Disability is not a constant it is fluctuating state between health and lack of health. We think about the concept of achieving a combination of fairness and equitability and it is not fair to exclude people from achieving a good quality of life by limiting resources. Barriers to disability often reflect combinations of culture and resources. As society evolves inclusivity is the current norm.
