Citizens with limited autonomy: the forgotten of mobility policies. Lima as an example

Abstract

New mobility policies focus on the right to a sustainable, equitable and accessible city. Thus, urban environments are gradually being transformed to become more inclusive, favouring journeys on foot, by bicycle and public transport, and achieving a wider ownership of public space, while limiting the use of private vehicles. However, no single model, with homogeneous capacities and needs, represents a human being; in fact, there is a large number of heterogeneities. Habitually, cities have been built for a single individual: male, middle-aged and with full physical and mental faculties. This article presents the results of a case study in the city of Lima, Peru. Research is based on interviews to understand the barriers that groups of citizens with limited autonomy (older adults, children, the motor disabled, the visually impaired and the cognitively disabled) face when they move around the city. The cyclical chain of requirements to travel is identified. The article concludes with a call for public mobility policies to integrate the biopsychosocial sphere to encourage autonomous journeys by the entire citizenry.