Accessible enough? : Legitimising half-measures of accessibility in Swedish urban environments

This chapter aims to contribute with an understanding of how inaccessibility is legitimised and normalised in Swedish cities even when it is tangible and well-known to the authorities. Although independent and equal access is the overarching principle of policies, regulations and conventions, city centres are full of half-measures that only grant access if staff or passers-by are able to help out. A rhetorical analysis of interviews with professionals working with accessibility shows that these half-measures are legitimised as ‘just as good’ or ‘the only way’ to improve access. Accessibility measures are further described as ‘ugly’ or ‘unthinkable’ since they are perceived as challenging the purity of design or architectural style. What is considered accessible enough is constructed in the intersection of the conflicting norms, values and principles that socio-spatially order the city. This means that accessibility is outcompeted, or downplayed inaccessibility is reproduced, and half-measures are legitimised as the only possible option. The conflicts of interests, norms, values and regulations that cut through and circumscribe barrier removal need to be acknowledged, as well as the complexities of the professionals’ work. Everyday accessibility work is not only about technical skills, economic recourses or knowledge of disabling barriers, it is also about rhetorical skills and presenting convincing arguments