Report ranks Philly, Pitt tops for disabled – but housing affordability a statewide issue

By Anthony Hennen | The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA – A recent national list named Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as two of the best cities for people with disabilities in America. Advocates in Pennsylvania, however, say more work remains.

As determined by WalletHub based on economic, health care, and quality of life measures, Pittsburgh ranked second nationally and Philadelphia eighth for the best cities for people with disabilities. Minneapolis was ranked first, and only St. Louis; Columbia, Maryland; Huntington Beach, California; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Overland Park, Kansas beat out Philadelphia.

While both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia scored low on economy, reflecting Pennsylvania’s struggle with economic growth as previously reported by The Center Square, both cities scored high marks on health care and quality of life factors.

For disability rights advocates, Pennsylvania has made progress, but has a lot of room for improvement.

“In general, the commonwealth has robust services available to people with disabilities,” said Jennifer Garman, director of government affairs for Disability Rights Pennsylvania. “But I would also say there are still a lot of barriers … so in looking at those rankings, there’s still a lot of work to do across the commonwealth to make sure people are fully included in their communities.”

Garman emphasized the importance of housing affordability and building accessibility.

“Pennsylvania is an older state – much of the buildings and housing in the commonwealth tends to be older, and so that raises accessibility issues,” Garman said. “Obviously, housing affordability is a huge issue across the country right now and in the commonwealth as well.”

While lower rents aren’t always thought of as connected to disability issues, disabled Americans rely more heavily on fixed-income benefits.

“Because people with disabilities often times have lower employment rates, housing affordability is more problematic for the disability community,” Garman said.

Housing affordability is unlikely to get better, given current trends. As The Center Square previously reported, Pennsylvania struggles with under-producing housing; as demand grows faster than supply, prices go up. With aging buildings instead of newer ones, disabled Pennsylvanians have trouble finding accessible housing that is also affordable.

To make cities and rural areas friendlier to Pennsylvanians with disabilities, Garman recommends something simple: policymakers need to talk to them.

“There needs to be engagement with the community: It’s really, really important to have disabled voices at the table, and getting that feedback from the community about where the areas of need are and what the barriers are,” she said. “When people have a connection to the disability community, it does provide a significant amount of insight into the barriers that people deal with every day.”