Gleeson Case

Cities are identified by certain icons or ideals that seem to symbolize the aspirations of the “preferred” class or just that group itself, but at the expense of the “undesirable” class. Gleeson speaks to this exclusion in The Regulation of Urban Accessibility when the city officials of Dunedin attempt to promote a pro - business image which inhibits disabled people from complete and equal access to all the buildings and structures of the city. Similarly, Mike Davis in Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of Urban Space addresses the officials and designers of Los Angeles successful ability to contain and prevent the presence of the homeless, Black, and Latino populations in order to construct a “more pleasing” depiction of the city. These assertions by Gleeson and Davis pose the intellectual puzzle: why must cities believe or perceive it necessary to disregard certain people whilst contriving themselves or formulating their own aura? Cities exclude these disadvantaged people in order to promote and achieve definite principles and an environment that they feel is the most advantageous for the greatest number of people in the city.

Although the policies employed by the city officials of Dunedin may appear upon first glance to be the most beneficial for the most residents, but Gleeson feels that these policies exclude disabled people that would only benefit the city if they were included. Gleeson argues that the disabled people of Dunedin have been left out by businesses that use the loopholes of the building codes so that they do not have to spend the extra money to accommodate the disabled. Gleeson is clearly at odds with the hypocritical policies of the Dunedin officials since they hold theses accommodations for disabled people as privileges instead of in the United States, which mandates that businesses and all other citizens must respect the rights of disabled American citizens. Furthermore, Gleeson believes that the pro-business policies