Abstract
This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of how and why Oslo’s climate strategy (OCS) produces or reinforces social difference and inequality in the everyday lives of (dis)abled people. Combining feminist poststructural theorization with the everyday lived experiences of 10 (dis)abled people, the thesis demonstrates the ways in which ‘disabled subjects’ are discursively established, regulated and maintained by OCS. By analysing how OCS intersects in the daily lives of (dis)abled people, the thesis identifies ‘disabling barriers’ that are produced/reinforced by two interventions in the OCS, namely Car-Free City Life and the use of public transportation. Through the production/reinforcement of disabling barriers, the thesis finds that these interventions are mediating processes of becoming ‘disabled’. Indeed, the thesis illustrates that the disabling barriers produced/reinforced by OCS stage ‘disabled performances’ which effectively turn difference into disability and disadvantage. The thesis therefore adds to critical discussions on why and how (dis)ability is at stake in environmental governance. The thesis coins the term the ‘(dis)ableisation of environmental governance’ to bring into view these subjectification processes and their embodied consequences. In the context of this thesis, the (dis)ableisation of OCS is found to exclude (dis)abled people from Oslo city centre, drain (dis)abled people of time and energy, and force (dis)abled people into polluting modes of travelling. Consequently, the thesis argues that OCS is a conduit of social difference by (unintentionally) producing and cementing social inequalities in the everyday lives of (dis)abled people. The thesis therefore proves the importance of interrogating and rendering visible how OCS bounds the possibilities for (dis)abled people’s inclusion in, and enjoyment of, Oslo’s ‘green transformation’. Finally, the thesis proposes an agenda for ‘troubling’ the (dis)ableisation of environmental governance. The agenda defines six entry points for the dismantling of the disabling barriers produced/reinforced by OCS. As such, the agenda provides a platform for identifying and challenging the ways in which environmental governance both mediates disabled performances and produces/reinforces social inequalities in the everyday lives of (dis)abled people. The agenda illustrates that any climate change mitigation and adaptation policies that ignore and exclude the everyday lived experiences of (dis)abled people will be insufficient, unsustainable and unjust.