Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
The need to design inclusive cities is becoming increasingly clear across the globe. However, not all urban models being designed today meet this objective, particularly regarding disability.
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Accessibility to some key information and communication technologies (ICTs) like TV, websites, books, assisted medical devices, mobile phones and apps for persons with disabilities (PWDs) remain a mere lip service, according to users and experts in the field. India is ranked 46th in the world and 9th amongst lower-middle-income countries behind Egypt, Kenya, Angola, and the Philippines according to the…
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The European Commission estimates that 80 million EU citizens live with a disability, with this figure expected to increase to 120 million by 2020 due to the region’s ageing population. In 2010, when it accepted the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the EU committed to ensuring the social and occupational integration of those living with disabilities.…
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When I arrived at Breda station last month to find out why this Dutch city was recently named the winner of the 2019 Access City award, I did something I have not done while travelling in a long time. Instead of taking a taxi, I independently pushed the two kilometres to the hotel, to see whether lack of access for…
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AV companies are understandably focused on trying to perfect their technology to address trust issues among the general public, but meanwhile, they’re working on designs for those who could benefit most from mobility technology — the elderly and people with disabilities.
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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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For many people, the work day doesn’t begin without addressing a serious challenge: commuting. This can mean highways stacked with traffic, or crowded trains and buses. For people who are blind, everything is more complicated. They must rely on a ride from someone else, or if traveling by rail, someone to lead them to and from the train. Soon, this…
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Today marks the seventh Global Accessibility Awareness Day, a celebration of inclusion and digital access for people with disabilities. Microsoft took the opportunity to unveil the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a gaming controller designed to accommodate a range of special needs, and Apple announced that its Everyone Can Code curricula for the Swift programming language will come to schools with vision- and hearing-impaired students.…
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Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population, and they are expected to add another” “2.5 billion new residents by 2050. They face increasing environmental pressures and infrastructure needs—and growing demands from residents to deliver a better quality of life and to do so at a sustainable cost. Smart technologies can help cities meet these challenges, and…
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The number of smart speakers bought in 2018 alone has doubled in the last four months with the likes of Alexa and Google Home answering queries in the home. Meanwhile driverless cars are being developed by the likes of Amazon and Tesla to deliver packages cutting human interaction. The idea sparked debate at The Drum’s Smart Cities Off Stone briefing…
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have an unprecedented impact on our daily lives. In particular, “smart environments” will change how we interact with our surrounding and with each other, including at home, in public spaces, and at the work place. This provides an opportunity to ensure equal access for people with disabilities. For example, operating doors, windows,…
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Abstract The present work discusses the possibilities offered by the evolution of Information and Communication Technologies with the aim of designing a system to dynamically obtain knowledge of accessibility issues in urban environments. This system is facilitated by technology to analyse the urban user experience and movement accessibility, which enabling accurate identification of urban barriers and monitoring its effectiveness over…
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Most of us think of ourselves as normal because we are part of the norm. Nicely installed in the majority, we often don’t realize that cities must be designed for all, and not only for the majority of “normal” citizens. For the small percentage of people who are born deaf, who cannot move about on their own, or who need…
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Share buttons by maFounded in 2006, the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development, in partnership with the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, and World Enabled, put together the SmartCities4All toolkit. The toolkit is one of many attempts to engage the wider urban community to use technology in a way that makes smart cities accessible for the differently abled.…
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When Maayan Ziv and her classmates wrapped up the first week of graduate school classes in Toronto, they wanted to celebrate. One of Ziv’s classmates suggested they all go to a bar in the area. Most of the group didn’t think twice. But because Ziv is in a wheelchair, she always needs to know if the place she’s going is…
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Can technology help? Can machines or apps make life easier for a person with a disability? And are these industries doing enough to make their products – and the world – accessible to all? Of course and here’s how Anyone who uses the London Underground will recognise the monotonous tone of the robotic voice that tells us all to “mind…
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People with disabilities make up 17.9% of the UK population, but are only represented by 0.06% of people featured in adverts, according to Lloyds’ ‘Reflecting Modern Britain?’ inclusion and diversity report. The study examined 1,340 TV and press adverts from 40 brands paid for by the top 20 advertising spenders in 2015. On the other side of the world, Marketing…
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‘I feel like a second-class citizen’: readers on navigating cities with a disability We asked readers with a disability to share their experiences – good and bad. Their responses show the many ways people can be shut out of their communities. Only 50 out of 270 tube stations are fully accessible. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian …
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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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he EU Council signalled its readiness Thursday to start talks with the European Parliament on the accessibility directive, to make everyday products and services more accessible to people with a disability.
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