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The Future of More Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities

The Future of More Accessible and Inclusive Smart Cities

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 Aren’t About Sensors – They’re about Private Public People Participation:

Smart Cities Aren’t About Sensors – They’re about Private Public People Participation:

“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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Zach Anner ’s Quest For The Rainbow Bagel Shed’s Light On Accessibility

Zach Anner ’s Quest For The Rainbow Bagel Shed’s Light On Accessibility

Zach Anner ’s quest to get a rainbow bagel in Brooklyn sheds light on New York City’s accessibility issues.  

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SMART CITIES – DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR A MORE LIVABLE FUTURE

Screenshot-2018-5-10 When kids put on their urban planner hats – cities are better for everyone

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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A Smart City is Tech, Data and Community: But Will That Build a Fairer Society?

Screenshot-2018-5-16 A smart city is comprised of technology, data and community but will that build a fairer society

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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People-Centered Urban Design is Fundamental To Smart City Architecture

Cartoon-Audience-Looking-SmartCity-Chaulkboard

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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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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The Secret Sauce of Successful and Inclusive Smart Cities

“A city isn’t smart because it uses technology. A city is smart because it uses accessible technology to build an inclusive culture ensuring ​no one is ​left behind.”  Darren Bates   This post focuses on the “secret sauce” that turns the idea of a smart city into reality. Question: What’s the secret sauce? Answer: People, the people who live in the…

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Persons with disabilities not to be left behind in smart cities  

Persons with disabilities not to be left behind in smart cities  

The answer seems to be a hopeful yes. At least 100 buildings each in 50 cities will be made accessible in a couple of years. These are part of the much hyped, technology intensive and ambitious ‘Smart Cities’ in the country. The Government had decided to turn 100 cities Smart.

The Government has selected these 50 cities under the Accessible India Campaign. Accordingly, the focus will be on auditing and ensuring access to atleast 25-50 of the most important government buildings in these cities fully accessible to these people by the end of 2017. By end of 2018, the target is to cover 50 per cent of all government building of the national capital region and all state capitals within reach….

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Smart City Collaboration in Preparation for the World Urban Forum  

Collaboration in Preparation for the World Urban Forum  

On November 1, 2017, the DIAUD Network held another successful meeting in preparation for the 9th World Urban Forum (WUF9), which will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next February. Members provided information about their planned representation and contributions at the Forum and were also able to collaborate in planning logistics for various events and meetings that will be taking place. The discussion was led by Federico Batista Poitier, Executive Assistant to the President and Communications Coordinator for Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) outlining the side events under consideration by GAATES and World Enabled for WUF9….

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