Understanding accessibility as lived experience: the case of walking and cycling in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Brazilian cities are typically unequal and car dominated, where poorer communities mainly rely on public transport, walking and cycling. Yet, understanding the experience of using these modes within specific contexts remains limited. In this paper, we illustrate how the ‘New Mobilities Paradigm’ can contribute to the ‘Accessibility Turn’ in urban research. Focusing on the low-income ‘Cruzeiro-Tronco’ neighbourhood in Porto Alegre, Brazil, we incorporate considerations of equity and social inclusion by applying Jensen’s ‘Staging Mobilities’ framework to examine how mobility is ‘staged from above’ by institutions and ‘staged from below’ by residents. We used biographical interviews and mobile methods to provide in-depth accounts of the lived experience of walking and cycling, showing how residents navigate the spaces and negotiate their mobility strategies in places deemed accessible by conventional ‘objective’ metrics. By applying Jensen’s framework as part of a mixed-methods research approach, we provide a more informative and context-specific account of the accessibility landscape, constructing knowledge with participants about the meanings of accessibility to support more inclusive policies and designs.