Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
Promising Practices
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for closer collaboration between the cities of London and San Francisco, highlighting the importance of stronger relationships based on shared values of openness and inclusivity, and the need for cities to work together to promote greater gender diversity Speaking at the SXSW tech conference earlier this week, the Mayor talked about the growing…
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Advancements in technology can play a deep and meaningful role in the independent mobility of people who are blind or have low vision. That is why we created Soundscape, a free app available today on iOS and iPhone in the UK. Soundscape empowers more people to explore the world around them through a 3D audio experience. The app enriches your…
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As cities work to add technologies to improve residents’ lives and mobility, many are putting a renewed focus on inclusivity and equitable innovation distribution. Yet despite this inclusivity push, experts say people with disabilities remain an overlooked group, especially during city planning processes. “Very few [cities] are thinking about all of their citizens, including specifically, citizens with disabilities,” said…
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Worldwide, over 1 billion people live with a disability. Demographic change leads in some parts of the world to an ever-aging population while in other parts birth rates are still well above four children per women. Thus, many people face immense barriers to take part at social and economic activities. Accessibility to public transport and the usability of public infrastructure…
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“A SMART CITY IS A CONNECTED CITY AND A CONNECTED CITY IS AN ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE CITY” The goal of Smart City citizen/community engagement is to meaningfully connect all citizens, the local developer community, artists and cultural institutions, entrepreneurs, start-ups, universities, and companies to improve the lives and the quality of life of all Smart City citizens. Darren Bates…
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New York City adds sign language video calling service Dive Brief: New York City has added a video communication service, ASL Direct, for hearing impaired residents who use American Sign Language (ASL) and want information about or access to city services. Users connect with a person fluent in ASL through a webcam conversation. The service also has a…
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Cities capture people’s imaginations because they are a whirlwind of change, adaptation, and challenge. Cities change on almost a daily basis, with the influx and exit of commuters. To survive over time, cities have to adapt to economic change, migration patterns, and citizens’ needs. Cities also have to face society’s toughest problems—poverty, crime, homelessness, and more—all while delivering the public…
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The winner of the Canadian Smart Cities Challenge will likely be the city that best aligns technology, efficiency, equity, and inclusion while not losing sight of residents. The long-awaited Canadian Smart Cities Challenge is in full swing. Infrastructure Canada has made millions of dollars available to cities that create the best pitch to improve the lives of their residents through…
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This publication is of critical importance as it contributes a clear overview of the main issues at stake. Namely, that governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector have a role to play in ensuring that accessibility is not an afterthought but a central component of their work. It also provides guidance on how to address the accessibility lack, in…
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Imagine this scene, 20 years from now: You wake up, open your window, and look out over your city. I can guess that it’s a fantastic place. Note that I said “fantastic,” not “smart.” From my own future-vision window of 2038, I see Rome. Its bi-millennial history is reflected in every stone. But this future Rome is also a city that…
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Accessibility is key when it comes to urban city planning. It’s only natural that combining physical and information infrastructure is at the heart of improving accessibility. Technology can help cities improve and become what are nowadays called smart cities. more The two factors that comprise accessibility are distance and mobility – people want to go to places, and they want them…
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From pollution levels and the number of traffic accidents to safer public spaces and more efficient heating in buildings—to what extent can the smartness of a city be quantified? And is it possible to measure the quality of life for an urban area through numerical parameters? /4988204/Phys_Story_InText_Box It’s all about collecting data that is reliable and making sense of the…
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Earlier this spring, we looked at the role of the arts in Smart Cities. Our in depth investigation into how the arts are essential to creating and sustaining the cities of tomorrow centers on issues of modern city livability, urban branding and skilled workforce development. We also examine the role of individual arts organizations in urban education and look at…
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What would a truly disabled-accessible city look like? Most cities are utterly unfriendly to people with disabilities – but with almost one billion estimated to be urban-dwellers by 2050, a few cities are undergoing a remarkable shift by Saba Salman To David Meere, a visually impaired man from Melbourne, among the various obstacles to life in cities is another that…
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In this installment of the Innovation of the Month series (read last month’s story here), we explore the use of smart technologies to help blind and visually impaired people better navigate the world around them. A team at Ohio State University has been working on a “smart paint” application to do just that. MetroLab’s Executive Director Ben Levine sat down…
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Begin: WordPress Article Content Technology has always been a critical force deeply intertwined with the evolution of cities. From the first human settlements millennia ago to the industrial revolution to today, technological breakthroughs have impacted the buildings we use, the way we get around and how we live, work and play in the urban space. The development of smart cities…
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With the urban share of the world’s population expected to increase to 70 percent by 2050, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy is introducing a new tool to help governments, city planners, NGOs, and developers make cities more equitable, healthy, safe, and vibrant. The simple solution? Walkability. The new tool, Pedestrians First: Tools for a Walkable City will facilitate…
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And how cities can create new avenues for pedestrians On a fall Saturday at Panorama High School, deep in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, an arborist fields questions about which street trees produce the most shade with the least amount of water. A rep from a local street furniture vendor explains the difference between a bus bench and more protective…
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Sustainable, inclusive, prosperous, and resilient cities depend on transportation that facilitates the safe, efficient, and pollution-free flow of people and goods, while also providing affordable, healthy, and integrated mobility for all people. The pace of technology-driven innovation from the private sector in shared transportation services, vehicles, and networks is rapid, accelerating, and filled with opportunity. At the same time,…
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Fifteen of the world’s leading mobility companies today signed the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, which aim to provide a uniform vision for making cities more livable through aligned mobility priorities. By signing off on the 10 principles, the companies pledge to plan cities and mobility together; prioritize people over vehicles; support the shared and efficient use of vehicles,…
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