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Co-founder of Walk Colchester, Rowena Macaulay is a chair user, passionate ‘walker’ and community champion. Although becoming paralysed some 15 years ago, her enthusiasm for getting out and about, and encouraging others to do the same, has not been dampened.  The topics in our conversation range widely, from the language of walking in the context of disability, to inclusive perspectives on access to the countryside, and the relative merits of mapping and photography as information supporting walking. We chat about how she came to devise a campus map for the University of Essex, how this led her to work on a ground-breaking 3D digital journey planner, led by local company Smart Networked Environments, that provides accessible route information both outside and within buildings. Drawing on her own research as a former student in Inclusive Design, she is currently developing phototrails as guides to accessible countryside routes, aimed at boosting the confidence of walkers new to an area.  Rowena also champions walk leader volunteering, by bringing commemorative walks celebrating the life and work of North American urbanist, Jane Jacobs, to Colchester each May. 33’54” 15.9MB

Download notes from the interview with Rowena_Macaulay