2017 Volume 56 Issue 2 Pages 97-111
This study aimed to examine the developments of a “successful” residents’ meeting for municipal disability policy based on three community activity goals: task, process, and relationship. A follow-up study of a municipal government meeting was conducted, continuing from 2002, organized by residents with disabilities, local officials, and the researcher. The members actively organized the meeting, negotiating with a public transportation company and a local disaster prevention agency, collaborating with various resident organizations pertaining to the issue of accessibility and mobility of the disabled. Through the meeting, the parties agreed that apart from being “people with disabilities,” they are also people with mobility difficulties and in need of aid during disasters, just as the elderly or expecting women are. However, they feared that this collaboration and recognition might lead to a decrease in members’ attention to disability-specific issues or in the significance of the meeting. They emphasized members’ active involvement in the meeting and disability-related activities. In summary, the achievement of the process goal led to the fulfillment of the other two goals, and of the process goal again, and thus the process and relationship goals were inter-related.
