Introducing the Physical Barriers in the City In-Between Buildings for Disabled Runners

Abstract

Mass street running has become one of the most popular sports that has taken place in the city’s center for many years. The interest in the participation of people with disabilities in street running has increased. Policymakers and urban planners are also aware that improperly designed public spaces create a physical barrier for disabled people to participating in street running indepe ndently. However, very limited research exists to introduce physical barriers in public spaces for disabled runners. The aim of this research was to introduce perceived physical barriers in the city in-between buildings for disabled runners. The data were randomly collected through an online survey of 110 disabled street runners. Chi-square analysis was carried out to find the results of perceived physical street elements and the avoidance of the running enviro n ment’s surfaces that become barriers for disabled runners. The t-Test was co n ducted to explore differences between physically disabled and visually impa ired runners in their perception of the barriers of the running environment. This study concluded the perceived types of street surfaces that should be avoided in running environments and perceived barriers in-between buildings that ha ve a negative impact on the organization of running for disabled runners. However, the perceived attributes in-between buildings positively influence run ning organizations and encourage participation of physically disabled and vi s ually impaired runners in the running environment. Urban practitioners sho uld prioritize revitalizing in-between buildings through developing accessibility to remove all the impediments that may encourage and promote more disabled people to participate in street running.