LorenzoThesisDraftSteveSuggests

Travelling around the city of Rotterdam with my brother, who is in a wheelchair, has made me aware of the architectural, cultural and bureaucratic limits that define our movements. In this Thesis I will reflect upon, (de)construct and criticize Rotterdam. I will reflect on Rotterdam in contrast to the utopian postcard realities that I experience in the city. In this text [title please] I develop a "counter-mapping" practice in relation to the issue of accessibility in Rotterdam. This will take the form of the transcription of a series of drawings which I made whilst writing [title]. I will also use my knowledge and experience in world building with 3D software.

The text will be structured by the following themes, each of which represents one of the multiple obstacles to getting around.

Socially - Personal, Affordable, Family, Housing

Accessibly - Disability, Information provision, infrastructures

Bureaucratically - Protocols of local municipal / governments

Architecturally - Buildings, ways, pavements, roads, streets

Virtually - Imagery, impression, media, softwares, simulation, games

Culturally - budget cuts, false iconism, counterculture, grassroots, community, festivals/gigs/events

These issues become invisible. When people do not see them. they do not exist.

GET AROUND / ^{Socially - Accessibly /} (un)Familiar barriers, social thresholds and unmeant ignorance

This drawing is a cacophony of the examples I give in this chapter. I_{n the top right, it is me pushing my brother from street level, to pavement, over the ramp inside onward towards inside.}_________________________________________ B_{elow the hall there is a front door view of where my aunt and uncle live. Which is a multi-threshold construction of tiles, bricks and pavements, resulting into a tight door which isn't wide enough to fit my brothers wheelchair into.} _________________________________________ I_{n the middle of the image. Is a sketched version of the Trevvel app-interface based on the ride booking/reservation screen. Above this screen is a sketch of the Gemeente logo with the word of WMO (law for societal support) and the number 6-8, indicating the weeks it can take before you know if you qualify for Trevvel}. _________________________________________ O_{n the right side of the interface. A sketch based on the front door situation of my Nephew's recently bought house. (Looked at above from Google Earth) Where we met up to meet his kid and showing us through the house. My brother couldn't get in because of, once again construction of tiles, bricks and pavements. With another social threshold that could have been helped, had we the knowledge of entrance, since we do have ramps to get past this. Wouldn't know if he would fit inside, though.} _________________________________________ ^O_{n the bottom left, there is the possibility of a back door of my aunt/uncle's place. Which we didn't use in the end.} ________________________________________ _ ^T_{he A to B line in bright green hovers over the different thresholds. To show what bizarre detours have to be done to get complete the route, not even mentioning the delays.}  

^{Socially - Accessibly /} (un)Familiar barriers, social thresholds and unmeant ignorance

In this chapter I show the preconceptions about the multiple obstacles that exist, and how these are rendered invisible. When people do not see it. It does not exist.

Zooming from the big picture to personal experience, the questions is:

How does one Manoeuvre or get around 'town'?

I can not ride a bike, so I either walk, take public transport, take a cab or carpool with someone. My brother can not walk, he is in a wheelchair so public transport mostly isn't an option. He can be transported from bed to wheelchair, from bed to mobility scooter, from wheelchair to a car. My brother mostly gets around with Trevvel* a customized transport (social taxi). He manoeuvres around in his mobility scooter (electric wheelchair) for longer and shorter distances. He meets plenty of obstacles along the way.

Here's an example of a difficulty I encountered. I intended to go to a friends Halloween party.I needed to get there via metro and bus. I couldn't stay there, and the option of a taxi with a big group was too expensive.  Another friend offered a place to stay, but that was only accessible via bike.  I didn't go in the end, but that kinda struck to me   This wasn't the end of the world, just a bit shitty.

The frustration I felt through being presented with a series of comparatively low thresholds made me consider my brother. The thresholds that occur along the way for him: from a pavement without hills or ramps, to bureaucratic, social and architectural thresholds are of a different order.  

Here's an example of a difficulty my brother encountered. My aunt wanted to plan my grandfather's birthday at their place in Spijkenisse, but they were worried that my brother can't access the hallway, because it is too small and the chair might damage the varnish. The other option was that he comes in through the backdoor, (but that's still pending because we need top check the measurements of the door).

My mother came up with the idea that we would do it at 'our place'. Which means I have to 'work' for this: I sometimes help my mother as a Mantelzorger. [ informal caregiver ]

Every 4-6 weeks, my brother, mother and I have a little get together. Because, if I want to meet with my brother and mother at my mother's place, it takes some preparation:

For my brother to enter my mother's house, we need*:

- an empty parking spot to place a hill or a plank

- to place a plank/hill from the street to the curb

- to place a ramp from the curb that which transitions into another a hill(small ramp) going into the hallway

- to place another small ramp in the corridor to enter the entrance hall.   

*The ramp and hills needed to be purchased.

- The ramp and hills need to be stored.

My brother has multiple ways to manoeuvre around, which gives him freedom. To get these things, there's a process that has to happen via the municipality

Because the mobility scooter is too heavy for the ramp, he needs to get there in a wheelchair. For this, he needs customized transport :**Trevvel Samen**.

You can apply for Trevvel Samen if you have an illness, handicap or of an age that public transport becomes impossible to use. It is a social taxi service that picks you up and delivers you to where you need to be.

Applying for this takes 6-8 weeks and is done through the Gemeente via communicative layers of bureaucracy (Fill in a form, call 14010 or visit a location).

It works like a regular taxi service. When requesting a Trevvel, you can reserve a booking via the app or call the company.

It gets communicated via some sort of telecommunication device :
## \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I'mavailable"\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

## //////"We have a ride from Boermarke 65 to Statenweg 127a" //////////////////////////////////////////

## \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Yes I will take that one'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////"Okay"///////////////////////

My brother then communicates that he has a Trevvel planned. He sends us a message and we set up the ramps and hills. We tip the driver (if they help, are friendly, cooperate and participate). He gets Trevvel via Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning (law considering the social support act of 2015).  

There are a few social factors and flaws in Trevvel:

On a personal level: We wanted to book a Trevvel that picks up my mother and me and then also picks up my brother. That wasn't possible, because *there has to be*  an hour between rides. So we in that matter needed to be picked up and brought to my brother. And then we would join him on the same ride. We then decided to go separate and ended up being picked up in the same trevvel.

This ride was heading to my nephew's house. We would visit and look at his house. We were there on time and then the same family was not thinking about my brother's situation, were unintentionally ignorant. My nephew has these concrete tile stairs. So this house becomes a liminal space to my brother. It is highly upsetting that in these vinex type lifestyle arrangements of normality. It doesn't come to mind that a nephew that has been impaired since 2019, is taken into consideration. It was a hot summer day and we just continued, but then my mother and I were picked up and my brother was picked up the moment we arrived at my mothers place.  

Our solution became that the three of us went to my grandfather for a custom version of my grandfathers birthday. We (me and my mother) were picked up around 13:00. My brother was in another bus and the driver picked up other people so it took a while in traffic. The road back we were supposed to leave around... 16:45 and in the end we had to wait an hour to be picked up. My brother started to get tremors / myoclonias because he didn't have his medicine yet (assuming he was going to be at home in time). The way back was bizarre: The bus needed to pick up people in another spot and then also right before we were almost on our location (my brother's home), the driver picked up another person at the Saint Francis Hospital (SFG) in Rotterdam. My brother was not doing well in this matter. Starting to get pissed off and tired. When we were finally were heading to Crooswijk. The last picked up person squished herself out of the bus when we were almost at our own space. Whilst we could have also requested the same but chose to be less egotistical.

This is one of the many stories of how Trevvel Samen as a form as customized transport is somewhat of a social taxi service but still has plenty of drivers and systems that are not listening to the needs of the travelers. And the fact that people need to wait 6-8 weeks depending on their situation if they qualify for this?! My brother in this case ends up less healthy and supported than this Social Support Law and Customized Transport.

This is only one of MANY examples that exemplify of just going to a family birthday for a bit requires a lot of mental preparation, it requires understanding and knowledge. It requires a municipal threshold, it needs physical support and so much more aftercare and rest afterwards.

So there are multiple obstacles to get around, socially, accessibly, bureaucratically, architecturally, virtually. And these become invisible when people do not see this. When people do not see it. It does not exist.

https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/1930343/vervoerder-trevvel-spant-kort-geding-aan-tegen-gemeente-rotterdam-we-maken-ons-grote-zorgen
https://www.government.nl/topics/care-and-support-at-home/social-support-act-wmo

https://www.rotterdam.nl/wonen-leven/vraagwijzer

https://www.trevvel.nl/trevvel-sociaal/uit-thuis-agenda/

https://www.verwijswijzer.nl/rotterdam/hulpmiddelen-en-aanpassingen/aanvullend-openbaar-vervoer.html

https://openrotterdam.nl/directeur-miniworld-woest-nadat-senior-klant-drie-uur-moet-wachten-op-taxi/

https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/1799787/krijgt-trevvel-een-opvolger-hopelijk-hebben-we-ook-als-gemeente-geleerd-van-de-fouten

https://www.ad.nl/rotterdam/trevvel-altijd-op-tijd-en-gezellige-chauffeurs-of-gaat-het-soms-toch-nog-mis~a9f4d9bd/

https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/zorg-en-ondersteuning-thuis/wmo-2015

https://www.trevvel.nl/doelgroepenvervoer/trevvel-samen/

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Anyway. Let's start with the show>>>>>>>>>>