Environmental approach as a methodological basis of the scientific analysis of the accessibility of the social environment for people with disability

The problem of accessibility of the social environment is extremely relevant for modern Russian society. It is conditioned by the existing in society multiple barriers preventing the full inclusion in society of people with disabilities and contributing to their isolation and minimizing social status in the social structure of society. The purpose of this article is to develop a methodology for scientific analysis of the accessibility of the social environment for people with disabilities. The scientific significance of the research is determined by the insufficiently developed methodology of studying the social environment and their inclusive potential in sociological science. The novelty of the research consists in the systematization of scientific approaches and concepts that allow us to develop a methodology for sociological study of the resource potential of the social environment from the standpoint of the independent life of persons with disabilities, as well as the development of a model for transforming the social environment in the direction of its accessibility for people with disabilities from the position of the environmental approach. According to the results of the study, the authors concluded that the environment is a product of social interaction, it forms the individual as a subject, determines its social activity and mobilizes social resources for its normal functioning in society. At the same time, the category of the social environment can not be disclosed without an analysis of the social subject and his needs as a motivator of his social activity. The generalized material and findings can be used in further sociological research on disability in modern society, as well as in practical activities to create an accessible environment for people with disabilities.