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Escola de Arquitetura

Universidade Federal

Minas Gerais

Rua Paraiba 697
sl 125

Belo Horizonte


(5531) 3409 8810



People with reduced mobility

Reduced mobility is a formal definition used in Brazilian legislation to recognize problems of temporary disability that affects someone's mobility. It includes a group of people with a very diverse profile.

It is not enough that a woman could be pregnant for being considered a person with reduced mobility. It is not enough for a person aged above 65 years... It is not enough that someone could be under 18 years old... It is not enough that someone experience disabilities in one hand.

The reduced mobility concept implies that we must accept that disabilities could be temporary. In all cases listed above, a person experiences reduced mobility when pregnancy affects balance or the ability of walking steadly. Someone who is above 65 years old will have reduced mobility when balance, capacity for reactions, muscular stamina, and sensorial perception will be unbalanced with environmental conditions of activitivies to the point of this person being at risk of accidents of fatigue.

The Brazilian legislation distinguishes between definitions of 'people with disabilities' and 'people with reduced mobility,' instead of considering those users as people who experience accessibility problems at different intensity levels.  We may understand that easily since some people refuse to be identified as related to disability. How do you a pregnant woman would react if we refer to her as someone with a temporary disability???

The lesson that remains is that we must focus on mobility and wayfinding problems for navigation in built spaces when we deal with accessibility problems instead of applying labels to groups of users. The focus on environmental problems that affect everyone joins us together in order to solve such common problem.

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