Abstract
The author explores the relationship between modern cities, people with disabilities and social work practices. Disability in cities links closely to the constitution of urban power and the composition of the urban landscape. The central arguments of this chapter are that all cities are disabling cities; that, for people with disabilities, city life is marked by much exclusion and some inclusion; that disability organizations constitute a social movement in pursuit of equality and rights of citizenship; and that the association between social work and disability has been a troubled one, although their relationship is shifting to more one of solidarity over core values, advocacy principles and reform goals. Social work is repositioning itself with a rights-based approach, informed by critical theory, challenging urban practices of ableism and marginalization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Beaulaurier, R. L., & Taylor, S. H. (2001). Social work practice with people with disabilities in the era of disability rights. Social Work in Health Care, 32(4), 67–91.
Bigby, C., & Frawley, P. (2010). Social work practice and intellectual disability. London/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Borg, M. B. (2010). Disability, social policy and the burden of disease: Creating an ‘assertive’ community mental health system in New York. Psychology, 1, 134–142.
Chenoweth, L. (2010). Foreword. In C. Bigby & P. Frawley (Eds.), Social work practice and intellectual disability. London/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Church, K., Frazee, C., Panitch, M., Luciani, T., & Bowman, V. (2007). Doing disability at the bank: Discovering the work of learning/teaching done by disabled bank employees. Toronto: RBC Foundation Institute for Disability Studies, Ryerson University.
François, B. A., Menzies, R., & Reaume, G. (Eds.). (2013). Mad matters: A critical reader in Canadian mad studies. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Gleeson, B. (1998). Justice and the disabling city. In R. Fincher & J. M. Jacobs (Eds.), Cities of difference (pp. 89–119). London/New York: Guilford Press.
Gleeson, B. (1999). Geographies of disability. London/New York: Routledge.
Hallahan, L. (2010). Legitimising social work disability policy practice: Pain or praxis? Australian Social Work, 63, 117–132.
Hiranandani, V. (2005). Towards a critical theory of disability in social work. Critical Social Work, 6(1). http://www1.uwindsor.ca/criticalsocialwork. Accessed 24 Apr 2015.
IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers). (2012). People with disabilities. http://ifsw.org/policies/people-with-disabilities. Accessed 16 Apr 2015.
Imrie, R. F. (1996). Disability and the city: International perspectives. London: Sage.
Imrie, R. F. (2000). Disabling environments and the geography of access policies and practices. Disability & Society, 15, 5–24.
Kim, H. S. (2010). UN disability rights convention and implications for social work practice. Australian Social Work, 63, 103–116.
Kitchin, R. (1998). ‘Out of place’, ‘Knowing one’s place’: Space, power and the exclusion of disabled people. Disability & Society, 13, 343–356.
Mackelprang, R. W., & Salsgiver, R. O. (1999). Disability: A diversity model approach in human service practice. Pacific Grove: Brooks Cole.
Oliver, M. (1983). Social work with disabled people. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Oliver, M., & Barnes, C. (1998). Disabled people and social policy: From exclusion to inclusion. London: Longman.
Oliver, M., & Sapey, B. (2006). Social work with disabled people (3rd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Parker, S. (2011). Cities, politics and power. London/New York: Routledge.
Prince, M. J. (2009). Absent citizens: Disability politics and policy in Canada. Toronto/Buffalo/London: University of Toronto Press.
Prince, M. J. (2011). Integrated and individualized service provision for people with disabilities: Promising practices in liberal welfare states. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 13, 545–560.
Scotch, R. K. (2011). Introduction: Disability and community. In A. C. Carey & R. K. Scotch (Eds.), Disability and community: Research in social science and disability (Vol. 6). Bingley: Emerald Group.
Shankar, J., Barlow, C. A., & Khalema, E. (2011). Work, employment, and mental illness: Expanding the domain of Canadian social work. Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 10, 263–283.
Stainton, T., Chenoweth, L., & Bigby, C. (2010). Social work and disability: An uneasy relationship. Australian Social Work, 63, 1–3.
UN (United Nations). (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and optional protocol. http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf. Accessed 25 Apr 2015.
Valverde, M. (2012). Everyday law on the street: City governance in an age of diversity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Vick, A. (2012). Theorizing episodic disabilities: The case for an embodied politics. Canadian Social Work Review, 29, 41–60.
Wilensky, H. L., & Lebeaux, C. N. (1958). Industrial society and social welfare. New York: Russell Sage.
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the politics of difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Prince, M.J. (2016). Disabling Cities and Repositioning Social Work. In: Williams, C. (eds) Social Work and the City. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51623-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51623-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-51622-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-51623-7
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)