Disability Studies Access Audit

* Second year access audit of Newcastle International Airport the built environment module Disability studies.

1. Citizenship
Citizenship has been defined by Margaret (2008, p.53) as a “state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community “. The term describing all citizens as a whole is citizenry. In law, citizenship denotes a link between an individual and a state. Under international law, citizenship is synonymous to nationality, although the two may have different meanings under national law. A person who does not have citizenship in any state is stateless. Citizenship is most closely identified with being a member of a particular nation which entitles persons to certain rights and obligations, Taylor suggests citizenship as a theory states that citizenship to include “ 1). social rights and responsibilities: 2). the development of policies and implementation with regards to rights and responsibilities as a citizenship. 3). Social forces that produce such practices. 4). social arrangements where benefits are disturbed to different fractions of society”. (Taylor 1994, p. 476). This essay will research and explore the concepts of citizenship and the idea of social exclusion with particular reference to disabled people and the barriers disabled people face within society.

Within the terms of the discussion of Citizenship, J.E Bickenbach (1999 cited in the Disability studies handbook 2004, p. 565) identifies three main concepts of citizenship, “ civil (rights to all to have equal status within society with regards to equality within the legal system and law), political (the right to vote and work as an equal within society) and social rights (the rights to participate within daily social activities and the right to the basic welfare state entitlement). One of the key concepts of citizenship that have been recognised through J.E Bickenbach (1999) suggests that the approach to human rights for people with

Cited: in Human rights manual, Wadham et al, p.546) eventually got passed and became law. This was important because it give disabled people a legal foot hold and reinforced the notion of the Social Model of Disability. Furthermore it showed that “legislators were prepared to acknowledge the fact that environmental and social factors affected the quality of life of disabled people not just cognitive or physiological impairments”, (Drake 1999, p.64). Then in October 2010 the Equality Act was introduced into legislation, with over 118 separate pieces of legislation to reinforce the rights of disabled people within society. The 2010 Equality Act was seen by many disabled people as too weak and not sufficient enough to solve the discrimination and predjuice disabled people face in society. The act was seen to enhance and reinforce the notions of Britain’s already existing anti-discrimination law. The equality commission defined the Act as “simplifying and strengthening and harmonising the current legislation to provide Britain with a new discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society”, (Equality and Human Rights Commission 2011) s. 29 part 3 of the 2010 Equality Act (2010 p.27); “A person for example service provider concerned with the provision of a service to the public or a section of public (for payment or no payment) must not be discriminated against a person requiring the service by not providing the person with the service”. Somers, Margaret (2008). Genealogies of Citizenship: Markets, Statelessness, and the Right to Have Rights. Cambridge University Press Taylor, David; Bryan Turner and Peter Hamilton (editors) (1994). Citizenship: Critical Concepts. United States and Canada: Routledge. pp. 476 pages Barnes, C and Mercer, G (2004) Disability Policy and Practice: Appling the Social Model The Disability Press: Leeds Swain, J et al (2004) Disabling Barriers - Enabling Environments. London: Sage Publications.