Modeling the Livable City: Urban Ableism Across Borders

Abstract

The concept of livability is treated as a universal public good, and many cities seek to model those ranked high on livability indexes. In the global livability imaginary, however, certain design features (notably active transportation infrastructures) are prioritized, with livable cities being those designed for bicycling and walking rather than automobiles. This article extends feminist infrastructure theorist Susan Leigh Star’s query, “cui bono?” to the question of “livability for whom?” Drawing on site visits and autoethnographic vignettes of disabled life in supposedly livable spaces, the article argues that infrastructural preferences for able-bodiedness in social and built environments create hidden geographies of urban ableism. In an era of mass-disabling phenomena such as climate change, COVID-19, and housing instability, attending to unequal forms of livability is necessary to design cities for a broad, inclusive range of inhabitants.