Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
Public authorities, transport operators, civil society organisations and other public and private sector stakeholder in Greater Lyon have been successfully improving accessibility addressing it as a cross-cutting issue and investing substantially in creating a barrier-free and inclusive environment.
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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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In the summer of 2018, start-up companies Lime and Bird flooded the streets of my hometown of Dallas with their electric scooters, which were followed by Razor scooters in the fall. Lime brands itself as “Smart Mobility for the Modern World,” and its Web site says that the company “is founded on the simple idea that all communities deserve access…
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Access, is Chris Higgin’s short documentary about accessibility. It follows Cory Joseph through a typical day, showing how he uses his smartphone, Braille display, tactile watch, and guide dog (named Vine) to navigate the world. I hope you watch it, and I hope it inspires you to make your work more accessible to more people….
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Whether for work or personal enjoyment, reading has long-lasting social and cognitive benefits. However, for seniors experiencing barriers to reading such as low vision or a physical impairment, using traditional print materials is a struggle, if not impossible. Benetech’s growing library of over 685,000 accessible titles, Bookshare, enables seniors to read in ways that work for them, choosing from a…
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Accessible Public Transportation and Housing, a Need for People with Disabilities in Major Cities This article is part of a series of stories on disability inclusion. – Even though over six billion people—nearly one billion of whom will have disabilities— are expected to live in urban centres by 2050, many of the world’s major urban cities have a long…
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Cities sometimes fail to make sure the technologies they adopt are accessible to everyone. Activists and startups are working to change that. Victor Pineda travels the world to make speeches and advise governments on urban planning and development. But when he encounters a touch-screen kiosk, he’s stymied. For people like him, who use wheelchairs and have limited use of their…
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An initiative to create Chennai’s first inclusive play space was inaugurated today via videoconferencing by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. A park for children of all hues A park that welcomes every child Play experiences for those who move on wheels … and for those who don’t. Swings and sand pit, slides and seesaws, Merry-go-rounds and climbers, basketball and…
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How many times in the past year have you heard someone say that the future of mobility is shared, electric, autonomous and connected? While this utopian view sounds like something we should strive for, we are missing two critical aspects of mobility, says Carol Schweiger, President of Schweiger Consulting and Chairperson of the New England Intelligent Transportation Society: accessibility and inclusivity. It…
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If you want to complain about your commute with Valerie Piro, chances are she’ll one-up your horror story. “Recently, there was an issue on an express bus with getting me off the bus and this loud alarm started blaring for, oh, a solid five minutes while the driver got me off,” said Piro, who’s working on her Ph.D in medieval…
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Tech companies and persons with disabilities gathered on the 16th November in Vienna to debate how not to leave persons with disabilities behind technological breakthroughs. The purpose of the event was to take the opportunity to discuss how new technologies embrace human diversity, and how technological solutions can be designed for all, including for persons with disabilities. It is an…
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Watch the Video! In our third public talk, author and community organizer Jane Farrow will moderate a conversation with three accessibility experts who are challenging cities to incorporate principles for inclusive design and ensure accessibility for all: Luke Anderson – Founder & Executive Director – StopGap Foundation; Consultant – AccessAbility Advantage Darren Bates – Founder – Smart Cities Library™;…
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“Smart cities are all about PPPP – Private Public People Participation,” said Professor Yasser Helmy, head of Smart + Connected Communities, APAC region, Cisco, adding that in order to deliver a better city for the citizens, costs to run cities need to be brought down and cities need to attract FDI to create jobs and improve the quality of social…
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After launching the Ease of Living Index and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry plans to rank the 100 smart cities on their accessibility quotient for the differently-abled people or ‘divyang.’ “We need to do some sort of a survekshan – swachh survekshan, ease of living index, a garbage-free index and now an accessibility index across the…
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Take a walk down one of the trendy little laneways in the heart of Melbourne, flat white in hand, and imagine: What will the city look like in five years? “The thing that people love about Melbourne is Melbourne as a place and an experience”, says Ben Rimmer, Chief Executive of the City of Melbourne. We are sitting in his…
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A renewal of public spaces is underway and underpinning this is new technology. Throughout history, public spaces have enjoyed many different roles in social, political and economic life, changing to suit the needs of the time. We know the ancient Greek agora and Roman Forum as the primary political centres of the city and the spatial cradle of democracy. In…
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Zach Anner ’s quest to get a rainbow bagel in Brooklyn sheds light on New York City’s accessibility issues.
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As a student, the daily walk up London’s Exhibition Road, past its profusion of popular museums, was hindered by groups of tourists that stood four-abreast on the pavement, eager to learn more about the cretaceous period, or space flight, or ornamental Renaissance metalwork. I was therefore pleased when, one spring, the street was quickly transformed from a bustling thoroughfare for…
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OASC Brazil publishes a Manifesto to raise awareness among city leaders and stimulate the implementation of social, economic and digital policies. The Manifesto has been shared with Brazilian authorities. A joint collaboration of OASC Brazil and OASC Portugal: Cláudio Nascimento (at speaker desk, left) and Margarida Campolargo (1st from the right) have presented the Brazilian Manifesto for human, creative, and…
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Technology can help people with disabilities get around cities – but it must provide reliable information tailored for varying needs BARCELONA – 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…
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