Current Affairs
In Bishkek, people with disabilities map 350 buildings and find ramp barriers in 60%
AI-generated illustration
Adapted from Global Voices · Nurbek Bekmurzaev
Disabled residents in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, are auditing buildings and building a public accessibility map. Of 350 buildings assessed so far, 60.3 percent had a ramp barrier, either no ramp or one that was hard to use.
60.3% of 350 buildingsassessed buildings in Bishkek with a ramp-related barrier (missing, or hard or unsuitable to use)
The facts
- 1Kyrgyzstan ratified the UN disability rights convention in 2019, but the group Oasis says everyday accessibility still lags behind that formal commitment.
- 2Earlier assessments were limited and gave no living public record, so progress was hard to monitor. Oasis argues accessibility must be measured before it can be improved.
- 3Participants use an app called UrbanEyes to record a building's location, photos, questionnaire answers and standardized accessibility indicators. A web platform turns this into an interactive map with filters and heat maps.
- 4More than 30 young people joined the Oasis Data Lab, including people with physical disabilities, blind and low-vision and deaf participants, activists and urban experts.
- 5The data allows comparison across districts and building types rather than relying on single complaints. The figures come from Oasis's own interview, and the evidence does not say how the buildings were chosen.
Why it matters
Structured, comparable data lets residents and authorities see where barriers cluster, instead of debating accessibility through assumptions or isolated complaints.
