After months of looking at data last year, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation released a list of America's Top 20 most livable cities for people living with paralysis.
What does it really mean for a city to be "livable?" In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (which became law in 1990), the Reeve Foundation commissioned a study to find out. One hundred of some of the largest cities in the United States were assessed based on a combination of health and other factors that enable a disabled person to live a fuller, longer life — in other words, not just "accessibility" but "livability" for people using wheelchairs.
Among the considerations: clean air, Medicaid eligibility and spending, access to physicians and rehabilitation facilities, access to fitness facilities, recreation and paratransit, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Cities' age (old buildings are harder to make accessible) and climate were also taken into account.
The 20 cities that ended up on the list are on the right track for offering hospitable environments for people in wheelchairs, according to the Foundation.
"Our Top 20 list highlights the great work taking place across the country to help Americans living with paralysis live their lives to the fullest, thanks, in large part to the passage of the ADA," said Peter Wilderotter, president and CEO. "However, there is still so much more we can do as a nation to improve the quality of life for the tens of millions of Americans living with a disability."
Here are the cities that made the list in ranked order:
- 1. Seattle, Wash.
- 2. Albuquerque, N.M.
- 3. Reno, Nev.
- 4. Denver, Colo.
- 5. Portland, Ore.
- 6. Chicago, Ill.
- 7. Birmingham, Ala.
- 8. Winston-Salem, N.C.
- 9. Orlando, Fla.
- 10. Lubbock, Texas
- 11. Miami, Fla.
- 12. Tampa, Fla.
- 13. Durham, N.C.
- 14. Fort Worth, Texas
- 15. Virginia Beach, Va.
- 16. Arlington, Texas
- 17. Baltimore, Md.
- 18. New Orleans, La.
- 19. Arlington, Va.
- 20. Atlanta, Ga.
For more information, see www.christopherreeve.org.
