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Focus on Persons with Disabilities at UN Habitat Assembly

Focus on Persons with Disabilities at UN Habitat Assembly

Hannes J. Lagrelius, WBU Programme Officer for Accessibility in Smart Cities Initiative sums up key highlights of the UN Habitat Assembly with reference to persons with disabilities. The Assembly was held on 27-31 May 2019, at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya.

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Smart Cities Hold the Key to Sustainable Development in Rapid Urbanisation

Smart Cities Hold the Key to Sustainable Development in Rapid Urbanisation

Asia and the Pacific’s phenomenal development has been a story of rapid urbanisation. As centres of innovation, entrepreneurship and opportunity, cities have drawn talent from across our region and driven economic growth which has transformed our societies. In South-East Asia alone, cities generate 65% of the region’s GDP. Yet, the ongoing scale of urbanisation is a considerable challenge, one which…

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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Civil Society Forum

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@DLBLLC and @SmartCitiesL are attending the Civil Society CRPD Forum at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York City today via live-stream: https://t.co/HTNhl9lkey. #CRPD11 #CFCRPD @USICD — Darren Bates (@DLBLLC) June 11, 2018   Civil Society CRPD Forum – Ahead of the 11th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with…

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Will Smart Cities Precipitate an “Efficiency Trap”? 

Will Smart Cities Precipitate an “Efficiency Trap”? 

Technological fixes such as smart cities make a system more complex, resulting in “wicked problems” that require ever more extensive technological remedies. In October 2016, at the World Urban Forum 8 in Quito, Ecuador, UN Habitat launched its third planning cycle with Habitat III, now known as the New Urban Agenda. The agenda defines the work of the global urban…

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Companies That Support Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Benefit From Inclusion

Companies That Support Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Benefit From Inclusion

  For many persons with disabilities to make a choice, on for example where to shop, where to eat, where to hold a meeting, which vehicle to use, which airline to use, which product to buy and numerous other transactional scenarios, it boils down to pertinent issues of how such businesses or companies respect and support the rights of persons with disabilities. Successful…

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Smart Cities and Social Governance A Guide for Participatory Indicator Development

UNDP-CH-PEG-smart cities report 2017

The Smart Cities and Social Governance: Guide to Participatory Indicator Development is the product of a year-long project in the Bihai and Huizhan Neighbourhoods in Guiyang. The project engaged local residents in setting community priorities, and created a multistakeholder process to enlist input from experts and government officials in establishing a set of indicators that can track those priorities using available data.

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A smart city means an inclusive city

A smart city means an inclusive city

Like every year, December 3 will be a United Nations sanctioned International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD). The aim is to increase public awareness of the conditions of disabled people and, at the same time, to celebrate their achievements and contributions. IDPwD has been supported by the Australian Government since 1996 and today it’s celebrated all around the world.

This year’s theme is “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want”, which draws attention to how people with disability are excluded from society due to several types of barriers, including physical, information and communications technology (ICT) or attitudinal barriers.

In Europe there are almost 80 million people with mild or severe disabilities, either temporary or permanent. A real “intelligent” city must always strive for equitable and affordable access to social infrastructure for all, including disabled people.

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Smart City New Urban Agenda and Connecting with Innovative Solutions #SCEW17

Connecting with innovative solution-finders from the smart urbanization sector – UN-Habitat

20th September, Barcelona – Under the theme, Empower Cities, Empower people, the 2017 edition of Smart City Expo World Congress (#SCEWC17) took place this month in Barcelona. UN-Habitat signed an agreement with the event organizers through which the programme will become a strategic partner in this and future editions of the global event.

For UN-Habitat, this partnership is an opportunity to promote urbanization as a tool for development in the framework of the New Urban Agenda and the Agenda 2030. The 2017 edition of the Congress, held from 14th – 16th November, attracted over 18,000 participants with 700 cities representatives and 420 international experts….

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Accessibility to ICTs: Achieving equitable communications for everyone

Accessibility to ICTs: Achieving equitable communications for everyone

​​​​​​​15 per cent of the world’s population lives with a disability. This represents about 1 billion people globally. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones, satellites or the Internet, are a unique infrastructure that expand access to key  public services, promoting digital inclusion. Throughout the world, persons living with disabilities are already benefitting from the advantages of ICT-enabled applications. But…

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Accessible #SmartCities – United Nations Division for Social Policy

Screenshot-2017-10-29 Accessible Cities United – 31 October 2017

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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UN urges inclusive #smartcity transition – @SmartCitiesWorld

Screenshot-2017-10-29 UN urges smart transition

The United Nations (UN) has launched a global campaign focusing on the transition to smart, sustainable cities. It advocates that public policy promotes the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a catalyst for such change. The initiative, the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC), is being led by the International Telecommunication Union and the Economic Commission for Europe…

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What the New Urban Agenda means for architects – AIA

United Nations Logo

What the New Urban Agenda means for architects By Tim Hawk, FAIA; Chere LeClair, AIA; and Derek Washam May 17, 2017 How AIA’s Strategic Council is encouraging communities to embrace sustainable urbanization. The United Nations convened its Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, referred to as UN Habitat III, in Quito, Ecuador in October of 2016. This is the…

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The New Urban Agenda Key Smart City Commitments

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It’s official: world leaders have adopted the New Urban Agenda, which sets a new global standard for sustainable urban development and will help us rethink how we plan, manage and live in cities.The New Urban Agenda The New Urban Agenda is a roadmap for building cities that can serve as engines of prosperity and centres of cultural and social well-being…

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