Survey reveals smart cities are failing disabled people

Six out of ten global experts say smart cities are failing disabled people, according to a new survey. Smart Cities for All, a global initiative comprising non-profits G3it and World Enabled, says just 18% of experts confirm that the smart city initiatives familiar to them use international standards for ICT accessibility. ICT accessibility is the quality of a mainstream technology to be used by the widest range of users regardless of abilities or disabilities. The survey, based on 175 entrepreneurs in
May 10, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Six out of ten global experts say smart cities are failing disabled people, according to a new survey.

Smart Cities for All, a global initiative comprising non-profits G3it and World Enabled, says just 18% of experts confirm that the smart city initiatives familiar to them use international standards for ICT accessibility.

ICT accessibility is the quality of a mainstream technology to be used by the widest range of users regardless of abilities or disabilities.

The survey, based on 175 entrepreneurs in technology incubators, revealed that only 43% of respondents had a strong understanding of accessibility and inclusion in their own product development and user experience design process. Also, a third of entrepreneurs were not sure if disabled people could even use the technology products and solutions they are currently developing.

To tackle this issue, Smart Cities for All has %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external released false https://smartcities4all.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/I2-Playbook-XT.pdf false false%> its Inclusive Innovation Playbook with the support of 1970 AT&amp;T.

Smart Cities for All says the document lays out five ‘plays’ and related actions that cities can take to infuse incubators, accelerators and innovation process with a commitment to inclusion and accessibility. These include a focus on a city’s people, economic assets, infrastructure, network and enabling public policies. The document draws from successful practices and insights from the private sector, government and civil society.

James Thurston, managing director of Smart Cities for All, says: “Closing the digital divide for the disability and aging communities in Smart Cities will require infusing inclusion, accessibility, and universal design into the innovation of new technology solutions at a scale much greater than is happening today. We think this new playbook will help cities and their partners do exactly that.”

According to Smart Cities for All, the playbook was designed to support entrepreneurs, developers who design technology and smart city solutions, policy makers and civil hacking community leaders. It is also expected to be of interest to smart city programme managers, academics researching innovation and disability organisations.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Vitronic tackles the route to a smarter road network
    March 19, 2018
    Safety, security, road user charging, and how it all comes together as the backbone of a smart road network, are the topics that German machine vision specialist Vitronic is addressing here at Intertraffic. The company is showcasing how its product range can be applied to a host of applications, from speed and red light enforcement, average speed enforcement, wanted cars search and border control to electronic toll collection (ETC).
    Read More
  • Uber helicopter service set for Manhattan
    June 12, 2019
    Uber is to launch a helicopter service in New York City which is expected to offer flights from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport in eight minutes. A New York Times report says the average flight on the Uber Copter will cost $200-225 per person and include ground transportation on both ends of the trip. Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate - the ride-hailing firm’s aerial division - says: “Our plan is to eventually roll out Uber Copter to more Uber customers and to other cities, but we want
    Read More
  • Intertraffic debut for YoGoKo’s V2X communications
    March 20, 2018
    French start-up company YoGoKo makes its Intertraffic debut with its focus firmly set on the challenges associated with V2X communication and autonomous driving. A few hundred road maintenance vehicles and motor coaches equipped with YoGoKo’s hybrid (ITS-G5/cellular) communication systems are participating in the EU-funded Scoop@F pilot deployments. Working in real traffic conditions, the pilot aims to validate a set of initial cooperative ITS (C-ITS) services between vehicles and the roadside
    Read More
  • Driven consortium aims to trial AVs in London before Christmas
    November 28, 2018
    The Driven consortium, led by software provider Oxbotica, hopes to trial a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AV) in London before Christmas following successful ongoing tests in Oxford. The vehicles will map streets in the London Borough of Hounslow as part of the consortium’s plans to run a fully autonomous fleet between both cities in 2019. Oxbotica has equipped the vehicles with its autonomous software, radar, lidar sensors and onboard computers and cameras. The fleet will gather data on the contents of
    Read More

Highlighted Content