Philly now has a permanent office for people with disabilities. Its success depends on what happens next.

On Election Day, city voters approved the permanent addition of the Office for People with Disabilities to the Philadelphia City Charter. Before the ballots were cast, this office, created by Mayor Jim Kenney in 2017, could have had its funding revoked at any time. Voting to make the office permanent is a critical and overdue step, demonstrating that disability rights are a priority for our city.

This move is essential and overdue. It’s essential because Philadelphia’s population has the highest rate of people living with disabilities among large U.S. cities. It’s overdue because the Americans with Disabilities Rights Act (ADA) was passed more than three decades ago.

Ensuring ADA compliance throughout the city is a top priority for the office, which, at minimum, should guarantee that disability rights are protected in public spaces. This is a tall order for the now-permanent office, and there will certainly be an uphill climb for progress considering its 2024 annual budget of only $318,000 and roster of four full-time staffers.

One way the office can protect and enhance the lives of Philadelphians living with disabilities is to work to remove some of the barriers to physical activity.

Disability rights are civil rights, and these freedoms are inextricably linked to physical activity.

Disability rights are civil rights.

As a physical therapist and researcher, I advocate for movement as a right every day. To be alive is to move, from the cells in our body to our fingers and toes. While dreaded by some, physical activity is necessary for all aspects of health, including bones, muscles, skin, and brain. It protects us against disease and improves our quality of life.

For people with disabilities, a lack of physical activity can only exacerbate any existing issues. This is a significant problem, as nearly half of adults with disabilities don’t get to experience regular physical activity. This statistic has a cascade of consequences, leaving people with disabilities at higher risk for several chronic health conditions. What’s more, being inactive doesn’t feel good — it decreases your quality of life, and limits your social participation. This is a health equity issue that is at the heart of all disability rights conversations.

There are several obstacles that prevent people with disabilities from regular physical activity. The most significant barriers are social and structural.

The ADA made equitable access to all public spaces law in 1990. Yet Philadelphia, alongside many other American cities, leaves much to be desired on this front. Crumbling sidewalks, broken subway elevators, missing curb ramps, and inaccessible housing are found throughout the city.

Philadelphia has done so poorly by its disabled residents, in fact, that the city has been sued for failing to comply with accessibility laws; as a result, the city agreed to a 15-year plan to install or fix at least 10,000 sidewalk curb ramps.

A lesser-known accessibility issue is embedded in the historic nature of our beloved city. In the centuries since the founding fathers walked across our cobblestone streets, city officials have given historical register designations to hundreds of buildings. As written, the ADA allows for an unfortunate loophole that permits designated historical buildings to keep architectural barriers if accessible design is not “readily achievable” for a number of reasons, such as cost. This cost, of course, often comes at the price of people with disabilities who cannot enjoy these spaces.

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When history is reserved for those without disabilities, our future is also being made without them in mind.

Further, disability is intersectional — meaning a person living with a disability is not only living with a disability.

Coined by civil rights advocate and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality sheds light on social identities and their compounding impact on an individual’s level of discrimination. Living with a disability is just one identity that increases social risk. People with disabilities who are older, from communities of color, from LGBTQ communities, and/or of low socioeconomic status are at an increased risk for discrimination.

It’s easy to see how disadvantages could compound. Consider, for example, a recent report that showed that Philadelphia’s Black workers spent 34 more minutes per week commuting than white workers. Now, consider the added difficulties faced by a commuting Black worker who is also a wheelchair user.

Additionally, Philadelphia — the nation’s poorest large city — happens to be home to some of the country’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, places marked by poor housing, poverty, struggling schools, and unemployment. Research shows that living in these areas is associated with higher rates of chronic health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which can be prevented and managed by regular physical activity.

Many of the people living in Philly’s disadvantaged neighborhoods have disabilities. Again, it’s easy to see how these disadvantages can compound.

The Office for People with Disabilities should take advantage of this moment, of the mandate given to them by Philadelphia voters in the most recent election. It can use this moment — this mandate — to push the city to accelerate its timetable to fix its curb cuts, to encourage historic buildings to make themselves accessible to all Philadelphians, and reach out to the people with disabilities who are facing additional challenges related to race, poverty, and other factors.

If we are to ensure all Philadelphians have the right to participate in their communities, then we must prioritize this office and its commitment to disability rights. It is a legal and moral obligation to ensure health, happiness, and the pursuit of movement freedom for all.

Laura A. Baehr is an assistant professor of health and rehabilitation sciences at the College of Public Health at Temple University. Her research, clinical work, and community education have focused on promoting physical activity in people living with chronic physical disabilities.