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

  • Stockholm seeks intelligent transport solutions
    May 21, 2012
    The city of Stockholm is inviting submissions of solutions for its “Intelligent Transport Solutions” challenge by 28th February. Kista Science City is seeking solutions that are innovative, customer-oriented traveller services to support shifts in mobility patterns, away from cars toward public transport, biking and walking. The winner will be invited to pilot the solution in the city, with full support by all local stakeholders to evaluate the solution before a full-scale roll-out.
    Read More
  • Honeywell and Volocopter sign air taxi testing deal
    April 16, 2019
    German urban air taxi manufacturer Volocopter has signed a deal with Honeywell to jointly develop new navigation and automatic landing systems. They will be used on Volocopter’s vertical take-off and landing aircraft - perhaps as early as this year, the companies suggest. “A key goal of our collaboration is to fly a Honeywell inertial measurement-based attitude reference system solution in one of our Volocopters in 2019,” says Jan Hendrik Boelens, chief technology officer, Volocopter. Urban air mob
    Read More
  • Australia faces tough choices over toll tags
    September 12, 2014
    With more than seven million tolling tags nearing the end of their life, delegates to ITS Australia’s 2014 National Electronic Tolling Conference had more than a passing interest debating possible ways forward. Rex Wright, chair of the Australian Toll Road Users’ Group, said the industry was potentially facing an AUD$100million bill over the next five years but the toll operators are committed to a unified national approach, consistent with the current interoperability.
    Read More
  • Bentley buys up Citilabs and Orbit
    October 24, 2019
    Infrastructure software specialist Bentley Systems is continuing to expand its portfolio with its just-announced acquisition of Citilabs and Orbit Geospatial Technologies. Citilabs provides the global mobility solution CUBE and analytics package Streetlytics, while Orbit offers the Orbit GT software. Bentley CEO Greg Bentley did not reveal the size of the deal. The move will allow Streetlytics traffic data to become available through Bentley’s cloud services, to improve the quality of digital twin mod
    Read More

Highlighted Content