Pandemic Models of Accessibility and Integration

Abstract

Studies of accessibility and impairment face recent glocal cultural change by reconsidering human notion of normality towards new approaches to mobility, communication, and socialisation that had become social priorities. Values of public care and subcultural solidarity now integrate more people suffering through pandemic conditions, as previously mostly impaired, and other socially vulnerable individuals had been addressed by various measures and specific attitudes of resocialisation and cultural adaptation. SARS-2 COVID-19 pandemics in 2020-2021 affected at first those members of society that had already needed special care, including youth, elderly, poor, disabled, migrants, etc. But the effects of pandemic health risks, deficits of social organisation, obstacles to civil protection, public and global reflections on the necessity of lockdowns, intensity of digital communication and infodemics on people unprepared, inexperienced, unaware in such conditions, became also statistically considerable. Therefore both social groups: of previously discriminated or needing special care, and of those who experience or reach such conditions of low equity, require accordingly adequate concern. Authorities, experts, and practitioners, responsible in managing disability and accessibility, are to focus on both general situation and its details, so that adaptation models applicable in these fields can be effective in times of pandemics, and specific measures could become more popular for all people. This paper, based on direct and participant observations, and on previous stages of our research on variety of accessibilities of tourist sites, educational media, and communication technologies, analyses particular cases of social dysfunction and problematic integration potential of spaces and infrastructure and models of organisation of new approaches that would improve resocialisation of people and activities damaged and isolated yet before pandemic. Although pandemic research is rapidly increasing in order to face various scholarly gaps, a more objective and sustainable scope of interest to accessibility is still not locally enough popular, as well as emergent integration studies and initiatives. There is no sufficient fundamentally and practically oriented support to the field, that would result in particular evaluation or regulation methodology, that could be applied and improve current situation. Nevertheless, actualisation of comparative field studies by pandemic situation is highly likely to result in paradigm shifts.