Global Resources and Promising Practices for Building and Refining Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities from Darren Bates LLC.
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…
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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…
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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…
Read More![Screenshot-2018-4-6 City of Boston and Aira Partner to Offer Assistive Technology to the Blind Low Vision Smart Cities Libr[…]](https://i0.wp.com/www.smartcitieslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Screenshot-2018-4-6-City-of-Boston-and-Aira-Partner-to-Offer-Assistive-Technology-to-the-Blind-Low-Vision-Smart-Cities-Libr....png?fit=388%2C480&ssl=1)
City of Boston, Aira partner to offer assistive technology for residents and visitors with blindness or low-vision for One Boston Day and Boston Marathon. Do not add additional content to the following right column. Secondary content should be included in a new right column below the left (main) columAira’s app will be available for free use during the Boston Marathon…
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Even just walking on Via del Corso in Rome or on Esplanadi in Helsinki it is possible to notice how much people live their city through the smartphones, but we rarely focus on how the use of the new technologies is contributing to promote inclusion and participation to the life of the urban contexts. The metropolitan areas of Helsinki and…
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In the spirit of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K., I invited our friend and colleague Jane Duncan to take over this spot this month. She is president of the 40,000-member Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and director of Jane Duncan Architects + Interiors, an award-winning practice in Buckinghamshire, England. Jane ran for office on pledges…
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Whether it’s a temporary Christmas market or planning everyday routes, accessibility around the UK has steadily gained awareness over the years. Today it is a key concern for many people, from the government and local councils to public transport providers. Unfortunately, while the introduction of new laws and legislation such as The Equality Act 2010 has helped to drive action…
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.entry-header .post-thumbnail Website accessibility is important. Website accessibility is something that receives significant attention in the legal space. But digital accessibility is not just about websites, and the law is taking notice. This post highlights cases about kiosk accessibility. I use the term “kiosk” broadly to include tablets and any piece of technology offering services, products, and information. Who will…
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Are smart cities another fad that benefits only big tech companies, or can the power of citizen sensing help make life better for all who call the city home? Who would have thought frogs could be enlisted in the fight against household mould? It happened in Bristol in the United Kingdom when a digital ‘damp’ sensor in the form of…
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Collaborative spaces within the city are more than just rising hotbeds of innovation; they can serve as social equalizers to disenfranchised populations, such as people with physical and cognitive disabilities. Collaborative spaces can help promote social inclusion by acting as accessible hubs of civic engagement, meaningful relationships, learning, innovation, and creativity. As the world becomes more urban and digitally engrossed,…
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Opened in 2015, the Mary Free Bed YMCA in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, is a state-of-the-art fitness facility designed using the principles of Universal Design (UD). Its design furthers accessibility and usability for all, regardless of user ability, age, and level of understanding (Blanck 2014). Constructed under the leadership of architecture and engineering firm Progressive AE, the building’s design includes…
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Smart City: People-Centered Urban Planning Concept When we talk about people-centric urban planning, we are referring to a process that puts people, or end-recipients, at the center of the process. People-Centered urban planning develops prototypes and solutions by performing embedded qualitative and quantitative research on those same people and end-recipients. Smart City Practice When we adapt this model to Smart…
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Analyst firm Gartner lays out its four strategies for city leaders to make their smart cities work. Local government needs to engage with citizens to find out their needs before investing millions into smart city programs, according to advisory firm Gartner. It proposed four strategies to refocus smart cities around the needs of the community. The first is understanding the…
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Accessibility can be seen in two ways. A set of rules and guidelines which say ‘Thou shall do x and thou shan’t do y’ or a way where we consider the needs and situations of the people who will be using our products and develop our products to ensure that we don’t disable them. By focusing on guidelines, standards and…
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At the end of 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) launched a Smart City Challenge in which U.S. cities could submit proposals for funding to develop smart transportation systems that leveraged data and technology to improve urban mobility. In August 2016, nearly 80 applications and seven finalists later, the City of Columbus, OH secured a $40 million grant from…
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When it comes to fostering an ICT procurement process that prioritizes accessibility and usability, the first step is to set your procurement priorities. This involves committing to an accessibility mindset and gaining executive buy-in for this commitment. Then, you’ll be ready to set standards and plan your procurement strategy. This section of Buy IT! walks you through the following steps:…
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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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In a time of urban transformation and digitalisation of smart cities, too little attention is sometime given to citizens. Citizen Focus Action Cluster strongly believes in citizens as fundamental actors for the regeneration and development of smart cities. Civic engagement, empowerment, participation and co-creation are at the basis of our advocacy approach since we acknowledge that citizen voice can be…
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The goal of Smart Cities should be no less than the full inclusion of ALL citizens, including aging and disabled residents. Conceding to 95% or any target less that 100% inclusion, would be like building 1,000 kilometers of completed superhighway that abruptly terminates in 5 kilometers of dirt roads and ditches. Darren Bates Just a morning thought. Darren Bates…
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Creating a truly disabled-accessible city Accessibility should be and is slowly becoming a concern all over the world, but cities have often been behind the times. Despite the idea of smart cities rising in popularity and many urban areas embracing technology to improve everything from user experience to safety, accessibility hasn’t had the same attention as these ‘glamorous’ innovations. Today,…
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