IncluCity: Using Contextual Cues to Raise Awareness on Environmental Accessibility
Jorge Goncalves, Vassilis Kostakos, Simo Hosio, Evangelos Karapanos, Olga Lyra · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS) · doi:10.1145/2513383.2517030
Summary
This paper investigates whether contextual cues — specifically photographs and precise location information — can make accessibility awareness campaigns more effective at changing public attitudes toward disability and environmental barriers. Traditional campaigns often present accessibility problems abstractly, out of context, making it difficult for people without disabilities to relate. The researchers built IncluCity, a web application where participants submitted reports of inaccessible locations around the city of Funchal, Portugal, photographing barriers and uploading reports with severity ratings and descriptions. Using a 2x2 between-subjects factorial design with 24 participants over two weeks, the study contrasted four conditions: Control (text-only reports on a map), Zoom (ability to zoom into exact locations), Picture (photographs of inaccessible spots visible to all), and Zoom/Picture (both features combined). Participants completed surveys at three time points (pre-study, after week 1, after week 2) measuring perceived city accessibility, number of inaccessible spots noticed, and personal awareness of mobility limitations. Follow-up interviews explored how the manipulations affected attitudes and behavior.
Key findings
Visual cues (photographs) had a significantly stronger effect than location cues (zoom) on changing attitudes and behavior. Participants in the Picture and Zoom/Picture conditions submitted significantly more reports than Control participants (p=.04 and p=.02 respectively), and this difference emerged primarily in week 2 after a critical mass of reports had accumulated. Participants with access to pictures reported inaccessible spots as higher severity (more yellow and red markers) than those without pictures, suggesting photographs heightened awareness of the seriousness of barriers. All participants progressively lowered their rating of city accessibility over the two weeks, but the decline was significantly more pronounced for those who could see photographs (p<.01). Pictures triggered episodic memory and personal reflection — one participant with a wheelchair-using family member said seeing photos "made me think of other places" and motivated her to actively seek out additional barriers to report. A community-driven cascading effect emerged: when one participant reported inaccessible churches, others began photographing additional churches across the city. Participants also began recognizing that inaccessible infrastructure affects everyone, not just people with disabilities — one noted "buildings are designed around town making it harder for everyone."
Relevance
This research provides evidence-based guidance for designing effective accessibility awareness campaigns and crowdsourced accessibility reporting tools. The key finding — that photographs are significantly more persuasive than abstract location data — has practical implications for tools like Wheelmap, CitiRoller, and other accessibility mapping platforms. For accessibility practitioners and advocates, the study demonstrates that contextual, visually grounded information from familiar locations is more effective at shifting attitudes than generic educational materials. The cascading community effect, where participants motivated each other through shared reports, suggests that crowdsourced accessibility auditing can become self-sustaining if designed with the right social and visual features. The WHO's ICF framework, which positions disability as a dynamic interaction between health conditions and environmental factors, is supported by the finding that participants increasingly recognized environmental barriers as affecting everyone — not just people with permanent disabilities.
Tags: environmental accessibility · civic engagement · disability awareness · crowdsourcing · urban accessibility · attitude change · contextual cues · wheelchair accessibility
Standards referenced: International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)