Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
There is no rulebook for how to turn a city of today into a city of tomorrow. Only a few scarcely adopted guidance documents for the Internet of Things (IoT) have been created in recent years — most of them in Europe — with the idea of creating governance around a concept that has so far been a playground for technologists whose primary…
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This word ‘smart’ is mentioned in reference to cities a lot. There are endless conferences and trade fairs exploring ‘smart cities’ or ‘Internet of things’ technologies. Most cities now have tech weeks – and the term is now so regarded that it’s often capitalised as ‘SMART’. But spending time in this world, hearing from the many mayors at the many…
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SMART CITY LIVE! FOCUS DAY Exploring the essential building blocks to realize the smart city vision. Around the world, the Smart City concept is taking off as an increasing number of cities are launching Smart City projects. Although cities differ in their approach and prioritization of different areas in their Smart City initiatives, the fundamental building blocks of every Smart…
Read More The overall focus of the Smart City project is to drive sustainability, liveability and workability in cities – with special attention to creating horizontally integrated city information hubs and enabling digital ecosystems on top of these information hubs while driving citizen engagement and social equity. Initiatives we are working on include: Unleashing a vibrant city data economy through our ‘City…
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SMART CITY APP An App made for Smart City Leaders If you run a smart city project, this App is for you (iOS app and Android app). With various local stakeholders, benchmark progress in your city against best practices and develop a shared vision for the next couple of years. The smart city leader invites a handful of local experts to input…
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New Microsoft, UN partnership will focus on tech’s role in tackling human rights challengesThis information provided by Smart Cities Council Compassionate Cities.Wed, 2017-05-17 10:45 — Compassionate C…As human rights challenges in communities around the world not only proliferate but grow increasingly complex, we’re encouraged by the news this week that Microsoft is partnering with the United Nations Human Rights Office…
Read MoreKnobbly pavements and ticking pedestrian crossings are one thing, but the frustrating experience of getting around the city for visually impaired people could soon be revolutionised by a new navigational headset which claims to let you hear your surroundings as a “3D soundscape”.Developed by Microsoft and the Guide Dogs charity over the last two years, with the government-funded Future Cities Catapult, the headset contains a GPS tracker,…
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New Urban Agenda Making cities accessible and inclusive for all people, including persons with disabilities, is an essential component of the New Urban Agenda, adopted at the recent Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador on October 17-20. Why? Because 15 percent of the world population live with some form of disability. If the New Urban Agenda is going to successfully…
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Access and inclusion in the built environment: policy and guidance – as exemplified by London approach. The need to address inclusive design from concept stage onwards is embedded in the planning process within London far more so than many other parts of the country. The key areas for consideration for designers are: The London Plan. The Equality Act 2010. The Building Regulations. The Principles of Inclusive Design. The…
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Accessible Smart Cities Initiative By Panagiotis Tsarchopoulos on 6 February 2017. Posted in Intelligent Cities / Smart CitiesG3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – and World Enabled teamed up to create the Defining Accessible Smart Cities Initiative.Sponsored by Microsoft, the initiative’s goal is to increase awareness of the role that accessible technology must play in…
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Making Smart Cities Smartly Accessible FEBRUARY, 2016 – 15:00 | PAR ALI JOOKHUN Smart Cities – smartly titled, youth appealing and towards a modern Mauritius. The Smart Cities are often bargained by the Government as a promise of reviving the economical landscape and part of making the population dream of the second economic miracles. Nonetheless, with much disappointment, people living…
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Perhaps the strongest theme to emerge from our Smart City InFocus conference in Yinchuan, China in September was the need to keep people at the center of smart city initiatives. In many ways, this would seem to go without saying – by definition, city workers are there to serve citizens. Source: Smart cities: The need for a renewed focus…
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Smart cities are getting more and more attention in the media, from technology companies and entrepreneurs, and increasingly from both local governments and civil society. On one hand, smart cities hold the promise to potentially make the growing number of cities around the globe more efficient, more tech-savvy, more wired–and with all that, they can hopefully improve the quality of…
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Cities at the National University of Singapore and Vice-Chair of the ITU Focus Group for Smart Sustainable Cities (FGSSC), agrees. Smart technology is an enabler of improving the quality of lives of citizens. “If you don’t improve the quality of life of urban dwellers, you aren’t doing something right,” he says. Nonetheless, improving the lives of city dwellers is in…
Read MoreSmart cities have the potential to create major benefits for city dwellers in developing countries, but only if urban planners combine “low-tech” innovations with “high-tech” ones, continue to build large capital infrastructure, and ensure people are at the center of design, John Bachmann of multinational engineering company AECOM, told Devex.He argued that smart cities should be seen as a tool…
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Thus far, the smart city movement has been focused on core infrastructure like broadband and sensors, but this week, the conversation began to shift to an even more important element — people. Source: Smart City 2.0: Shifting the Focus from Infrastructure to People
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Technology has the power to create communities that are more responsive to citizen needs and that can enhance citizens’ quality of life. However, much of the research and planning around smart cities is driven by technology rather than the needs of the citizens. The human aspect is often overlooked when talking about smart cities. If you ask most people what…
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Bangkok to build people-centric city within a city. 04 Apr 2017. The development will have eight hectares of green and open areas in the city centre It is hoped One Bangkok will position the Thai capital as a key gateway city in Asia. TCC Assets (Thailand) and Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) are to jointly develop ’One Bangkok’, Thailand’s first and…
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Civic engagement – Beyond just publicly sharing information, governments must actively explore new ways to interact with citizens and provide them with contextual data. Including community groups in the process, which may be viewed as untapped government departments, promotes transparency and opens additional resources. Further, governments that embrace communication with the public make it easy for people to provide and…
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