A set of initiatives in the municipality of Jerez seeks not only to break physical barrier for residents with disabilities, but also promote awareness on accessibility and social integration for the disabled.
This case examines the development and implementation of the first and second Municipal Accessibility and Social Integration Plan for disabled people (2003-2007 and 2008-2012) in Jerez de la Frontera. This is a municipal plan that has the support of the Municipality and which has been developed on a broad-based basis in various areas of the Municipality.
These two plans were developed with the participation of institutions representing people with disabilities and the active participation of the various areas of government and their technical teams. To that end, shared diagnosis processes, meetings for the discussion of proposals and assessment spaces for the plan have been implemented that give it a high level of transparency.
In both cases, the goal is to create a social environment that cares for people with disabilities and reverses the dynamics of exclusion that they face, generating a process of social inclusion and encouraging all-round citizenship (as its coverage ranges from the provision of social services to issues such as urban renewal, participation, etc).
The level of completion of the proposals set out in both plans is high. The first achieved almost 90% compliance, while in the second, despite being only half way through its implementation period, compliance is at 60%. These results have led to a high level of acceptance of the participation process of these plans, with a considerable increase in the number of agents involved between the first plan and the second. The local authority has also experienced significant improvements as far as coordination between areas is concerned.
Although it may be assumed that the direct beneficiaries of this initiative are the more than 10,000 people with disabilities in the city, this number increases if the relatives and caregivers who benefit from this policy are also included. As well, the rest of the city also benefits from the policy, which increases its quality of life as a result of municipal initiatives that improve the town's physical space.
This experience has a high level of replicability, as can be seen by the fact that similar experiences are taking place in other parts of Spain and the rest of the world.