After a Life-Changing Injury, This Man Is Fixing Footpaths, Buildings & Public Spaces for Access

One morning, the city Prateek Khandelwal had always moved through with ease suddenly shut its doors on him.

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A short flight of steps. A narrow doorway. A washroom he could not enter. After a spinal cord injury in his 20s took away his ability to walk, everyday spaces began sending a clear message: this city was not built for him.

Cities promise freedom — to move, work, learn, and belong. For millions of people, they do the opposite. Accessibility is often treated as a special add-on, rather than a basic part of urban life. For Prateek, this gap was no longer abstract. It shaped every decision he made outside his home.

Overnight, he lost more than mobility. His career paused, relationships shifted, and the ease of navigating the world disappeared. Places he once took for granted now felt closed off. Some days, stepping out felt harder than staying in.

But within that frustration came a turning point. If cities were not built for people like him, perhaps the cities themselves needed to change.

From personal struggle to public purpose

That realisation led to the birth of ‘RampMyCity’ in 2020.

What began as a personal response to exclusion grew into a larger mission: redesign public spaces so dignity, access, and inclusion are visible, practical, and built in. Through ramps, audits, and inclusive design interventions, RampMyCity works to make everyday places usable for everyone.

RampMyCity works to make cities accessible not just for people with disabilities but also for senior citizens, parents pushing strollers, people with temporary injuries, and anyone who has ever struggled to navigate an unfriendly urban environment. Because accessibility, Prateek believes, benefits everyone.

The journey, however, was far from easy. He was repeatedly asked, ‘Why do we need ramps?’ Funding was difficult to secure, approvals were delayed, and resistance was common. Yet Prateek persisted — one space at a time.

Innovation built on lived experience

Today, Prateek’s organisation has helped create over 600 accessible public spaces across India. Its strength lies in empathy-led innovation — accessibility audits, inclusive design solutions, and advocacy rooted in real, lived experience rather than abstract policy.

Here, design decisions focus on making everyday spaces usable and respectful.

In 2024, Prateek’s work was recognised with a National Award from the President of India, honouring him as a role model. But for him, recognition is secondary to the larger goal.

Building cities that don’t exclude

Prateek envisions a country where people with disabilities don’t have to plan their lives around barriers — where accessibility is not added later but built in from the start.

His journey shows how meaningful change often begins with listening to those who have been excluded the longest. When cities are designed for the most vulnerable, they become better for everyone who lives in them.