Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
BARCELONA, April 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Entrepreneur Josep Esteba became so frustrated trying to get around his native Spain in a wheelchair for more than 20 years that he embarked on a mission to map cities for disabled people all over the world. “Many years ago I travelled a lot for work, and would arrive in cities that…
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Bluetooth technology, crowdsourcing, and connected devices are making mobility easier for blind, visually impaired or disabled transit riders. In Boston, transit officials, through a partnership with Perkins School for the Blind, have been contributing data to the app BlindWays, which combines GPS data with special clues to get users to the exact location of a bus stop. The clues are…
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Accessible mobility—public transportation that can be used by anyone—is a critical component of future urban development. The New Urban Agenda calls for a significant increase in accessible public transportation, and accessible mobility is part of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Worldwide, more than one billion people live with a disability, 80 per cent of whom…
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Google Maps is filling in an important detail for its transit navigation by giving users the option to check a box that will highlight wheelchair accessible stations. The addition of wheelchair accessibility is meant to round out other location and direction features on a global basis. “This feature is rolling out in major metropolitan transit centers … Continue reading Google Maps…
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article-context-nav context-nav article article-hero-lede article-hero article-contents post-contents On the Sidewalk Labs website is a 200-page document explaining its vision for a smart neighborhood in Toronto. It’s packed with illustrations that show a warm, idyllic community full of grassy parks, modular buildings and underground tunnels with delivery robots and internet cabling inside. The text describes “a truly complete community” that’s free…
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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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Self-Driving Cars: The Impact on People with Disabilities Our New Study Reveals Self-Driving Cars Could Open 2 Million Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities Introduction Self-driving cars have almost become a staple of everyday conversation. You hear about them on the radio, read about them in the newspapers, and you see them on TV, and not just in sci-fi movies.…
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Autonomous Bus Trial Takes Off Free trips on a futuristic shuttle were on offer last week in Ipswich, as the Ipswich City Council trials electric autonomous vehicles. According to Ipswich Mayor Andrew Antoniolli the demonstration of the electric self-driving shuttle technology is an exciting component of the city’s smart city program. “As a smart city, driverless technology is a long-term…
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CONNECTHINGS LAUNCHES PILOT PROGRAM BRINGING CAPITAL METRO BUS INFORMATION TO PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN AUSTIN Network of beacons at bus stops deliver real time schedule and alert information to riders via the BlindSquare app Demostration is part of AustinCityUp’s vision of using innovation to facilitate a truly inclusive community while raising the quality of life…
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A new 20-cent fee could soon be tacked on to every taxi and ride-hailing service trip to fund improvements to accessible cab service for Calgarians with disabilities. A city committee voted unanimously Wednesday to fund a $1.5-million incentive program aimed at getting more accessible taxis on the road. The per-trip surcharge was approved at a meeting that saw several Calgarians…
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The accessibility of air travel for people with physical disabilities has been slowly improving since 1986, when the Air Carrier Access Act was signed into law and eventually led to the implementation of regulations designed to ensure equal access in air travel. Over the past few years, airlines and airports have shown improved general awareness of the so-called “hidden” disabilities,…
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(Getty Images) Washington, D.C. local government has formed a new think tank to prepare for the rise of autonomous vehicles. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday that the city organized the “Autonomous Vehicle Working Group” to to plan for the emerging technology. The group is composed of city staff with experience in transportation, the environment, public safety and disability rights and has the…
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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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The answer seems to be a hopeful yes. At least 100 buildings each in 50 cities will be made accessible in a couple of years. These are part of the much hyped, technology intensive and ambitious ‘Smart Cities’ in the country. The Government had decided to turn 100 cities Smart.
The Government has selected these 50 cities under the Accessible India Campaign. Accordingly, the focus will be on auditing and ensuring access to atleast 25-50 of the most important government buildings in these cities fully accessible to these people by the end of 2017. By end of 2018, the target is to cover 50 per cent of all government building of the national capital region and all state capitals within reach….
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REV Group introduced the world’s first production plug-in gas/electric hybrid wheelchair accessible vehicle at the LA Auto Show. The base vehicle is the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, and the introduction was part of the FCA exhibit highlighting the breadth of its automotive technologies. The introduction also marked the first public show for REV Group’s latest specialty vehicle brand, Revability.
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s cities across the U.S. struggle with falling transit ridership, the National League of Cities is urging them to seize the moment by serving more riders, like the poor and “unbanked.”
Many cities are already thinking about how technology can be used to marry traditional and newer forms of multimodal transit, while at the same time ensuring these solutions are equitable across the entire population.
“The good news is that the majority of large cities are thinking about equity. And cities are uniquely positioned to lead the nation into more equitable outcomes,” said Brooks Rainwater, senior executive and director for city solutions at the National League of Cities (NLC).
Rainwater was responding to a recent report by the NLC titled “The Future of Equity in Cities,” which explored issues like transportation, housing and economic development.
With an eye toward serving more riders with multimodal systems, researchers insist on the need to develop these new ideas for everyone, including the disabled, riders with little access to technology and the unbanked — users who lack bank accounts to link up to mobile-ticketing apps and other popular forms of transit technology.
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On November 1, 2017, the DIAUD Network held another successful meeting in preparation for the 9th World Urban Forum (WUF9), which will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next February. Members provided information about their planned representation and contributions at the Forum and were also able to collaborate in planning logistics for various events and meetings that will be taking place. The discussion was led by Federico Batista Poitier, Executive Assistant to the President and Communications Coordinator for Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) outlining the side events under consideration by GAATES and World Enabled for WUF9….
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This post is part of Complete Streets month at Smart Growth America; we will be sharing a series of blog posts that cover and explain each of the 10 revised policy elements in some detail.
Complete Streets implementation relies on using the best and latest state-of-the-practice design standards and guidelines to maximize design flexibility. Creating meaningful change on the ground both at the project level and in the creation of complete, multimodal transportation networks requires jurisdictions to create or update their existing design guidelines and standards to advance the objectives of the Complete Streets policy. Road design is key to truly make streets safer and accessible for all people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, ability, income, or how they choose to travel….
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Uber India announced the launch of two new products – uberACCESS and uberASSIST supported by Mphasis, a leading cloud and cognitive services provider…. Read Full Story | Source: Uber India launches wheelchair-accessible vehicles- uberACCESS and uberASSIST
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