Planning for Equity and Inclusion will play a critical role in planning futures. Yet to be successful, we must ensure we are including and planning for everyone. To date, there has been little policy and practice guidance on planning for disability equity and inclusion. This viewpoint presents a recent discussion paper written by Australian Planners, some who identify as having different disabilities*, as a way to start to close these gaps.
The paper is underpinned by research from a four-year Planning Inclusive Communities project. The purpose of writing the discussion paper is threefold:
- To lead the planning profession in a discussion on disability inclusion and equity.
- To build awareness on how our planning profession can contribute positively and support disability inclusion and equity more widely.
- To help build capacity and empower practitioners.
Furthermore, the paper also suggests a pathway forward. The hope of this viewpoint is to raise awareness of the discussion paper and to stimulate conversations on Planning for Equity and Inclusion for all Australians, which is a pre-requisite to achieving liveable, sustainable communities, cities and regions.
*Disability is widely encompassing term including physical, sensory, cognitive, neurological, psychosocial impairments, Deaf/deaf or hard of hearing, mental health needs, chronic-illness and neurodivergence.
