Useful links

We have established links from our site almost everywhere that an internet address/URL is mentioned or listed in the text. Our own site interlinks the URLs www.accessinlondon.org, www.accessinparis.org and www.accessinisrael.org - which are all under the Access Project (PHSP) umbrella.

This page was last updated in May 2007.

You can go directly to:

What we are listing and describing on these pages is information sites relating to various aspects of disability, and of travel and tourism. The travel and tourism sites are mainly of value in providing conventional data about special events, opening times and prices etc. Unless they provide good descriptions about accessibility, be careful when using any access information.

Some sites simply include ‘travellers tales’ which can be both interesting and revealing, but do not provide consistent and balanced data. Some sites reflect the perception of the provider, not the user. Some get their information by phoning. Some put information there because they are completing various ‘tick boxes’ which they are required to do.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the amount of material held on the world wide web. There are differences in the way information is stored and included, and much of the access data is scattered and takes the form of notes on message boards. A great deal of ‘access’ data on the net is inaccurate and/or misleading. This is because people’s understanding of accessibility is very limited, and the information is incomplete. Too often, they just think of a wheelchair user, and quite often of an able and energetic chair user in a manual chair. Also, as we discovered, websites sometimes just disappear.

About five years ago we came across the Integrated Disability Information and Education site INDIE, and listed it in the Israel/PA guide because it was quite good. When we checked it recently, the website www.indie.ca led directly to the Parkdale Hookers, who, we think, play indie music ! This wasn’t quite what we were expecting, and the INDIE site and its information seem to have disappeared.

Some providers just say ‘disabled access’, without really giving any hard data. What that probably means that at least one on-site route is step free, but doesn’t tell you much else. It doesn’t say whether there’s a disabled person’s toilet there, nor what percentage of the building you can reach without steps, nor how big it is. The information may also be wrong!

What we would like to encourage is that rather than just linking uncritically to sites (which generally improves the site’s Google rating), people should first assess the source and quality of any data they see. A brief description of the physical characteristics of a building or venue and its main facilities gives far more information than a possibly uninformed and/or generalised assessment of accessibility. Similar considerations apply to the description of services provided.

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