Formation of Barrier-free Urban Environment and Problems of Labor Integration of Disabled People in Russia
Authors: Еgorov Еvgeny 
Published: December 2022

The article examines the economics of a barrier-free environment in the context of the transition from a medical to a social approach to disability after the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). A social approach to disability means recognizing the equality of the rights of disabled people with healthy citizens in all spheres of society and ensuring accessibility for them of all objects and services in the external, primarily in the urban environment. Disability is understood as the presence of external and internal barriers that impede the social integration of people with disabilities. The formation of a barrier-free urban environment makes it possible to
remove external barriers, and comprehensive rehabilitation and habilitation of the disabled removes internal barriers. Together they ensure accessibility for the disabled of all objects and services of the urban infrastructure. A barrier-free urban environment is a socially significant benefit that has a positive external effect not only for all citizens with limited mobility (LMC), but also for all members of the local community. A comprehensive assessment of the socio-economic effects from the implementation of programs for the formation of a barrier-free urban environment for all stakeholders (disabled people, entrepreneurs, authorities, the local community) is important. In the Russian Federation, this allows overcoming the limited approach to assessing the benefits from their implementation only for people with disabilities and other LMC at high investment costs. It is recommended to use the experience of the EU in the Russian Federation in presenting the annual Access City Award to the three best cities for an accessible environment for the disabled as an effective incentive for them and the regions of the country in the development of a barrier-free environment and tourism. An analysis of the 10 years of implementation of the state program of the Russian Federation "Accessible Environment", along with achievements, made it possible to identify a number of shortcomings: the need to verify quantitative indicators of the accessibility of its priority facilities for people with disabilities using sociological surveys of people with disabilities and experts; low level of accessibility of university buildings for teaching disabled people; non-fulfillment of indicators of growth in employment of persons with disabilities. As a result of a selective sociological survey of people with disabilities and experts conducted by the author in 2022, the reasons for the low level of social and labor integration of people with disabilities were identified: the lack of employers' interest in their employment, the low availability of urban infrastructure, and the discrepancy between the skill level of people with disabilities and modern production requirements. An integrated approach to the formation of an accessible environment in the field of vocational education and employment of disabled people with increased incentives for socially responsible employers is proposed. It is shown that the conduct of a special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and new packages of Western sanctions adopted in 2022 against our country require consideration of their socio-economic consequences. In particular, - updating the state program of the Russian Federation "Accessible Environment", taking into account the expected increase in the number of disabled people and the development of import substitution policy in this area.