ABSTRACT
The role of the environment in inhibiting or supporting full societal participation of people with disabilities is increasingly being acknowledged. Theoretical frameworks of disability such as the social model (Oliver 1990) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF; WHO 2001) recognize the role of the environment in “producing” disability, albeit to varying extents. Even the preamble of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirms that disability results from the interaction between individuals with impairments and environmental barriers (UN 2006).
