Accessible Mapping Research Lab
A team dedicated to researching, mapping, and expanding our understanding of the barriers that those with visible and invisible disabilities face in the built environment.
The Accessible Mapping Research Lab, directed by Dr. Victoria Fast, is a research team at the University of Calgary dedicated to elevating accessibility and inclusivity in both urban and digital environments. Our mapping, research, and educational work focuses on expanding our understanding of the barriers that those with visible and invisible disabilities face in the built environment.
Our Research
Participatory Mapping
Accessibility mapping research where participants can translate their lived experiences into spatial evidence for action.
Disability GIS
Making diverse disability-relevant perspectives more visible by linking experience, theory, and ethics to spatial data, classification, and decision-making.
Accessible Education
Integrating disability perspectives and promoting inclusivity in teaching and research through educational resources, modules, and research support.
Latest Lab News
Breaking Barriers Day Keynote Talk
In June 2026, over 150 researchers, professionals, and community members from across the province and beyond gathered for Breaking Barriers Day. It was an interdisciplinary event designed to have people come together and share their thoughts and research related to ableism and disability justice, learn how these issues present themselves in various professional and everyday spaces, and reflect on ways to bring about change. Dr. Fast was invited as a keynote speaker for the event, presenting on making hidden barriers visible through maps.
New Publication: Expanding the Urban Design Toolbox
Join us in congratulating recent graduate, Hawjin Falahatkar, in publishing part of her master's thesis in Urban Design International! In this publication, Hawjin highlights a gap in mapping women's everyday mobility needs in urban design, and introduces a gender-inclusive urban design toolkit that helps translate everyday experiences of safety, accessibility, care, comfort, and representation into actionable urban design knowledge. Included in her findings is the creation of a UCalgary Map for All, a spatial assessment of gender inclusivity.
Full Publication | UCalgary Map for All
Dr. Kassi Boyd named SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow
Join us in celebrating postdoctoral researcher, Kassi Boyd, in being selected as a recipient of a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship! This fellowship supports the next generation of innovators and creative thinkers, helping them develop world-class research in Canada.
Kassi's postdoctoral work will involve collaborating with disabled children and their families to more deeply understand the accessibility of ‘inclusive’ playgrounds and surrounding amenities such as parking, washrooms, and pathways. Her goal is to generate evidence-based recommendations for inclusive playground design and inclusive play programming.
In the News
UCalgary prepares students with skills to thrive across all aspects of life
Future Skills learning modules uncover the hidden curriculum that drives success across school, work, and personal lives
UCalgary undergraduate students work across disciplines and with their community
Summer research programs introduce transdisciplinary thinking into students’ experiences
This is a day to amplify the leadership of persons with disabilities and allies working towards an inclusive future
Dec. 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities; meet some of the UCalgary faculty, staff, students and administrators examining disability and accessibility from diverse perspectives
UCalgary researcher leads exploration of urban accessibility barriers across the globe
Dr. Victoria Fast's transdisciplinary research on creating accessible cities and societies is one of 18 research projects to receive SSHRC Insight Grants