LIVING DISABILITY

Building Accessible Futures for Everybody

by Emily MacRae

How can we build more accessible cities? Living Disability brings together vibrant perspectives on disability justice and urban systems.

From sidewalks to the climate crisis, Living Disability brings together the vibrant perspectives of thirty-five disabled writers. They explore disability justice, analyze urban systems, and propose more equitable approaches to city building. Essays and interviews push the conversation about accessibility beyond policy papers and compliance checklists to show how disabled people are already creating more inclusive spaces in cities of all sizes.

Living Disability is universal in scope but intimate and local in focus, grounded in personal struggles and celebrations.

Decisions about public transit, affordable housing, and park design all disproportionately impact disabled communities; by sharing stories and strategies, contributors consider the ways disabled thinkers and doers are embracing overlooked aspects of urban design and tackling the toughest problems facing cities.

“Living Disability is at once hopeful and infuriating, solemn and joyous. The stories shared within these pages point to both the past and future simultaneously – illuminating the struggles and joys and history of disabled life, while putting access barriers on blast in a way that is more necessary than ever. The deep, rich work of this collection lies in its embrace of complexity, community, grief, and also its belief in the capacity of our world (read: us) to change. May these stories touch your heart, kindle the flame of your anger, and move you forward into fighting for the better world we all deserve.”

– Amanda Leduc, author of Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space

Paperback | 288 pages | Coach House Books | 2024

Emily Macrae is a disabled writer, organizer, and twin. Having lived and worked in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, and rural Quebec, her work combines policy analysis and lived experience to build accessible urban and digital environments. Her words have appeared in Canadian Architect, Spacing, and NOW magazines, as well as publications in Britain and the United States.