Famously built on volcanic remains, Edinburgh is a city notorious for its hills. Combine this with narrow cobbled streets, eroded 18th century staircases, and constant construction works, the city can feel impossible to navigate even for locals. Officially listed as a World Heritage Site, Edinburgh attracts over five million tourists annually. This can make the city incredibly confusing and hectic for visitors, especially if they require accessibility arrangements. In the UK, roughly 16.8 million people have a disability, which equates to 1 in 4 people.
Edinburgh’s main form of public transport is Lothian Buses. Each bus has at least one wheelchair space, alongside priority seating. Stop buttons also have braille and the more modern buses, such as the 9 service, have navigation screens and announce stops. Despite this, buses can get very crowded and diversions can make navigating the city extremely difficult. Trams can be useful as they are fully wheelchair accessible, however they only serve the north section of the city, meaning destinations are limited.
Edinburgh based charity Ecas, which supports adults with physical disabilities, prompted the use of Euan’s Guide, which was created in partnership with Forever Edinburgh to highlight accessible hotels and tourist attractions, as well as transport links in and out of the city centre.
In terms of accommodation for locals, a study conducted by Edinburgh City Council in 2022 revealed that over 60 per cent of homes in Edinburgh are flats, and 48 per cent of homes in Edinburgh were built before 1945. This means that it can be difficult to get planning permission to improve accessibility. The main problems can be outdated building infrastructure which essentially requires demolition in order for development to take place, or buildings included in the Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas (Scotland) Act 1997, which recognises them as heritage properties, and means consent is required to alter them.
The study states: “of the 44 per cent of households in Edinburgh which contain a household member with a long-term health condition or disability, 34 per cent require adaptations but do not have them.” Additionally , “28.6 per cent currently have an unmet need for a specialist housing solution” where their needs cannot be fulfilled. In fact, further research states “just 27 per cent of homes across the city could be accessible to a person using a wheelchair, offering access from street level and movement around the property without difficulty.” This highlights that not all homes in Edinburgh can be made accessible, despite the demand for accessible housing.
In terms of accessibility on campus, many of the university’s newer buildings, such as 50 George Square and the Nucleus, have been designed with accessibility in mind. A University of Edinburgh spokesperson commented: “We are committed to being an accessible, inclusive campus and recognise the importance of addressing any barriers to access so that all students, staff and visitors can participate fully in university life.”
“Since 2016, the University’s Estates Department has worked closely with AccessAble to create access guides for teaching spaces and buildings across our campuses. As new buildings are completed, new access guides are commissioned, and existing guides are frequently reviewed and updated.”
Despite this, older university buildings remain difficult to modernise. Additionally, access between buildings can be difficult due to the fact that campuses are spread out across the city, or that buildings such as New College are situated in busy tourist areas.
One old building that has recently undergone significant renovations in order to improve accessibility is Teviot Row House. Syjil Ramjuthan, Vice President Welfare for Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) stated: “The Students’ Association works closely with the University to ensure the campus and buildings are accessible to as many students as possible. The recent renovation of Teviot included several significant improvements, improving wheelchair accessibility from 20 per cent, to 80 per cent of spaces.”
EUSA’s representatives are “improving the quality and availability of lecture recordings; working to introduce more accessible learning for deaf students in classrooms; running disability awareness campaigns, such as the previous year’s endometriosis awareness campaign; and working alongside our Advice Place and with the University’s Disability and Learning Support Service to improve policies and procedures impacting disabled students, with a recent focus on ensuring neurodivergent students are better supported by policy and in practice.”
Generally, much of the significant work to improve accessibility in Edinburgh has been completed fairly recently, providing spaces that otherwise did not exist, or were unsuitable. The focus on improving accessibility that considers people without physical or visible disabilities is also incredibly positive. Despite this, the availability of accessible housing could definitely be improved throughout the city, in order to meet the needs of locals.
Photo by Cordelia Murray-Brown for The Student.
