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…
Read MoreDay: April 13, 2018
University of Maryland Launches Smart City and Connected Communities Initiative
COLLEGE PARK, Md.– University leaders, local government officials, community partners and academic researchers recently launched a new collaborative initiative aimed at using smart and connected technologies to improve the safety, engagement, accessibility and quality of life along the College Park areas of the Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) Corridor. Sponsored by the National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG) and the College…
Read MoreWhy We Need Universal Design
Michael is a deaf and native American Sign Language speaker working as a creative designer for Amazon. Throughout his career, Michael’s visual/conceptual way of thinking and problem solving have served him both as an asset and a challenge. He finds solutions around his disability through Universal Design. Michael Allen Nesmith, a Chicago native, was born into a deaf-culture family using…
Read MoreAccessibility with Imagination
The Deaf communication specialist Eva Westerhof talks about inclusion by imagination: “We can fly through space. We can walk on the moon. But we cannot make or own world accessible? Accessibility does not affect a few people. It involves billions of people. It affects everyone. Sooner or later. Take accessibility in your mind with everything you do. Make sure…
Read MoreUniversal Design Policy For an Inclusive Environment
Hobsons Bay UD Policy Statement Hobsons Bay City Council is situated south-west of Melbourne with a significant stretch of coastal area. As with many local councils in Victoria they are keen to embrace the principles of universal design in their planning policies. As part of their access and inclusion strategy they plan to implement UD principles in new buildings, buildings…
Read MoreSocial Factors in the Accessibility of Smart Cities and Urban Areas for People with Motor Disabilities
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities recognizes the right of people with disabilities to attain full social participation without discrimination on the basis of disability. Mobility is one of the most important life habits for achieving such participation. Providing people with disabilities with information regarding accessible paths and accessible urban places therefore plays a vital…
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