Abstract: Disabled people often struggle with the complexities of our built environment, hindering their full participation in contemporary urban life. With increasing political and media attention being drawn to the rights of the disabled as citizens, there is need to improve our understanding of the barriers faced by the mobility-impaired when accessing and utilising public spaces. Utilising in-depth interviews, this paper explores the role of urban planning in addressing equity of movement and accessibility within the Adelaide CBD. While it was evident that there has been some consideration of disabled-people in planning, this research highlights continuing physical barriers, such as footpaths and disabled toilets, problems with access into buildings, and inadequate and inefficient transport options. Importantly, it was apparent that there is still a strong need to push for more inclusive approaches to mobility planning. Institutional and social attitudes towards disability authorise an approach that can potentially increase social exclusion and stigmatisation. This paper suggests the necessity for a change of attitude and terminology among planners, a need to adopt interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge, and a desire to improve public consultation towards recognising and empowering disabled citizens within decision-making processes about our urban environment. This paper, therefore, argues that barriers faced by the disabled can only be removed by shifting the focus of urban planning activities onto meaningful consultation and collaboration, based around developing an empathetic understanding of the realities faced by the disabled when moving around the urban environment.