Geography

This thesis focuses on the implication 'space' has on defining one's identity, analysing how Māori urbanization was fundamental to Māori Renaissance, and to the development of a qualitatively speaking distinct Māori society — the urban Māori. It focuses on the positive aspects of urbanization, rather than the already well-known negative effects, and tries to show how Māori urban praxis (mentality, discourses, and actions) is distinct and unique in Māoridom by comparing pre- to post-urban political praxis.

The present thesis is a demographic and socio-economic study of disability in the United States of America (U.S.), where data is analyzed to understand if disabled people occupy a better structural position in twenty-first-century America than they did in the twentieth century.

This thesis consists of three parts. First, a theoretical discussion of disability as an object of research, as well as disability’s social construction and cultural production. Second, a brief contextualization of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, the most important piece of legislation for disabled people in American history. Lastly, a quantitative analysis of pre-COVID-19 demographic and socio-economic data (2008- 2018) to better understand the current position of disabled people in the U.S. three decades after the passage of the ADA.

Can it be said that the approval of the ADA changed the structural position of disabled people in the U.S., or has the Act failed to live up to its expectations and purpose? Despite some significant advancements, mainly in the areas of accessibility and transportation, reviewed data in the last section of this study shows that disabled people in the U.S. continue to be disproportionally overrepresented at the bottom of most statistical indicators, much as they were before the Americans with Disabilities Act’s enactment in 1990.