Despite emphasising the importance of
building an inclusive city for all in the
London Plan (2021), the capitals
infrastructure, including the transport
network, displays design elements that fall
short of adequately meeting the needs of
VIP. This failure signals an inadequate
understanding of VIP user needs and,
indeed, the wider spectrum of accessibility
requirements of other groups. At present,
however, not enough is known about the
journey experience of VIP, nor is there
appropriate emphasis being placed on this
user group by the relevant design
practitioners within Transport for London
(TfL). This research has
demonstrated that the journey experience
of VIP in London is fraught with barriers
resulting from infrastructural design,
operational practice, and a growing variety
of design interventions introduced to meet
wider societal goals. While it is
acknowledged that VIP experience greater
difficulty traveling in London when
compared to those with full sight owing to
the limitations imposed by their visual
impairment, experiences brought about by
design practice and the conscious
prioritisation of certain user groups over
others, exacerbates the already unequal experience of travel by this user group.
This research has shown that exclusionary
design practice is acutely experienced by
VIP on London’s streets, where a growing
number of mixed-use spaces are being
created in places where, previously, clear
demarcation of space existed. Other
interventions, such as continuous footways,
and particularly, the expanding network of
infrastructure to support personal
mobility, all produce the unintended
outcome of widening the equity gap
between atypical bodies and VIP.
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