Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
Accessibility can be viewed as the “ability to access” and benefit from some system or entity. Accessibility involves removing the barriers faced by individuals with a variety of disabilities (which can include, but is not limited to: physical, sensory, cognitive, learning, mental health) and the various barriers (including attitudinal and systemic) that impede an individual’s ability to participate in social, cultural, political, and economic life. Disabilities can be temporary or permanent.
The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers).
Accessibility is not to be confused with usability, which is the extent to which a product (such as a device, service, or environment) can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
Accessibility is strongly related to universal design which is the process of creating products that are usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations.
A key challenge faced by Smart Cities is to ensure the engagement and inclusion of all people including citizens with disabilities and those that are aging. An accessible Smart City is purposefully designed to include all people and equitably meets the needs of both people with disabilities and people who self-identify as non-disabled.
A Smart City isn’t smart if it doesn’t support the needs of all citizens.
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Navigating Egypt’s public spaces can be a difficult task for anyone living in a place like Cairo. Its debilitating traffic, poorly-paved streets, lack of pavements, and all kinds of barriers one needs to conquer, are enough to make one think twice before stepping out into city life. For someone with a disability, these challenges obviously become exceedingly more difficult. In a new…
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New Accessibility Regulations for N.L. Buildings, Parking Lots November 3, 2017 admin New regulations for parking lots, washrooms, wheelchair ramps and more included in amendments CBC News Posted: Oct 23, 2017 Service NL is bringing in new regulations which will bring Newfoundland and Labrador up to national standards for having accessible buildings and facilities. The Newfoundland and Labrador government says…
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DISABILITY INCLUSION MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE A refreshing and informative disability inclusion 101 video. Perhaps a “ice-breaker” at your next HR Training or just a friendly way to cover some basics that can help your company outreach, hire, retain, and promote workers with disabilities. SOURCE: International Labour Organization Published on May 25, 2016
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The Access City Award is the European prize for making cities more accessible to people with disabilities and older people. For making commitments to the city’s disabled and older population through the means of technology, the jury decided to award Lugo with this year’s special mention for being a “Smart City”.
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DELHI — The development of “smart” cities was one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first initiatives upon taking office in 2014. Launched the next year, the stated focus of the Indian government’s Smart Cities Mission is “on sustainable and inclusive development, and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model which will act like a lighthouse…
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India’s crusade for digitisation and digital inclusion has failed millions of Indians with disabilities. Will the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act change that? There is a need to ensure equality in the digital realm. Credit: Reuters One of the strongest mandates of the newly enacted Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 is on the issue of accessibility. The public…
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Panaji: Identifying several gaps in the existing infrastructure for disabled people of the state, authorities and stakeholders asserted that if the state capital was to attain the smart city tag, inclusive planning with a focus on the differently abled was required…. READ FULL ARTICLE: Stakeholders meet to discuss accessibility in Panaji‘Smart Panaji has to be inclusive’ | Goa News –…
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To create best-of-class livable and productive environment for its citizens and visitors, a smart city will have to evolve into an ‘intelligent city’. Estimates of the smart cities market vary widely. The one constant is a universal expectation of substantial growth. New cities will be built and existing ones will be retrofitted to create economic development and improve the lives…
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Persons with disabilities have often been neglected and excluded from the various plans, schemes and campaigns of the Government. A case in point is the SMART Cities Mission that has hardly any mention of accessibility for persons with disabilities. More importantly, with technology being the cornerstone of the SMART Cities initiative, the already existing digital divide will only grow further if it…
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The European Commission is currently developing a range of website accessibility guidelines specific to mobile applications. In April 2017, it advised the European Standards Organizations (ESOs) through Mandate 554 to develop digital accessibility standards for both public sector websites and mobile applications. These new standards build on the EU’s 2016 Web and Mobile Accessibility Directive, which directed all EU member…
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Atlanta: On Tuesday the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) and World Enabled announced that their Smart Cities for All (SC4A) global initiative will develop a new tool to assess and benchmark digital inclusion and ICT accessibility in smart cities. The Smart Cities for All Digital Inclusion Maturity Model will become the first maturity model targeted specifically at digital accessibility…
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Join the United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA/DSPD) in celebrating World Cities Day 2017 with a panel discussion on “Enabling future cities to be smart. Strategies to prevent urban poverty and promote social inclusion and wellbeing.” TOPIC By 2030 more than 60% of the world’s population is projected to…
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WebAble TV is pleased to present the first in a new series of video interviews entitled “Champions of Accessibility”, a monthly program featuring a video interview with person with a disability who is a leader in the field of accessibility and a thought leader in the community of people with disabilities. Our first “Champion of Accessibility” is Todd Waites who…
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Accessibility Not the Same as Usability or Availability Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers) Accessibility can be viewed…
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Hi, I am Paul Bepey, a registered blind person working in the field of Assistive Technology and Accessibility. As its World Sight Day today (12 October) I wanted to look at what assistive technology means now that more and more mainstream products have accessibility built in.So, these are my own views on what assistive tech means today. Source: Disability-smart: the…
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Digital Accessibility Digest Stay on top of developments in website, elearning, and application accessibility. The Digital Accessibility Digest brings curated, Microassist original, and guest-provided news and information of interest to web, content, and application developers, as well as IT departments and legal counsel. Content focuses on the importance of implementing WCAG 2.0- and Section 508-specified accessibility practices that make digital…
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Auditors say city’s website needs improvement. The Office of the City Auditor has found that although the city’s website, AustinTexas.gov, offers residents numerous online services, the website does not meet accessibility guidelines, so it is difficult for people with certain disabilities to find and use those services The audit findings were released and accepted at Wednesday’s City Council Audit and…
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During Smart Cities NYC 2017, a new toolkit, Smart cities for all, was released to help cities reduce the digital divide and make them accessible for all. Jonathan Andrews spoke to Dr Victor Pineda, President of World Enabled, and Co-Chair, Persons with Disabilities, on the General Assembly of Partners, the civil society body designed to help governments implement Habitat III.…
Read More![Screenshot-2017-10-26 The Harkin International Disability Employment Summit Creating Careers and Professions for People wit[…]](https://i0.wp.com/www.smartcitieslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Screenshot-2017-10-26-The-Harkin-International-Disability-Employment-Summit-Creating-Careers-and-Professions-for-People-wit....png?fit=640%2C366&ssl=1)
In its first year, the Harkin International Disability Employment Summit convened 180+ attendees from 30 countries over 1.5 days. The Summit was an invitation-only event of select stakeholders who had been successful at employing people with all types of disabilities, or adapting policies and practices that encourage others to do so. This year, we expect an even more robust turnout.…
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OpenAIR is a global web accessibility challenge that pairs teams of web developers with registered non-profits looking to create or improve their websites. 20th Annual OpenAIR is underway! February 8, 2018 – May 15, 2018 Welcome to OpenAIR – the web accessibility challenge! Organized by Austin based nonprofit organization Knowbility, OpenAIR is a global web accessibility challenge that pairs participating teams of web developers and…
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