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

  • Assocations news worldwide
    May 13, 2016
    ITS America 2016 promises to be anything but ‘business-as-usual’ as its new president and CEO, Regina Hopper, aims to broaden the scope and discussions at the event, billed as “A New Show Representing This Transformative Moment in Intelligent Transportation.” Signifying the changes, this year’s event is in San Jose at the heart of Silicon Valley and has adopted the theme “Integrated Mobility. Transportation Redefined.”
    Read More
  • Quantum XYZ intends to launch air taxi service in Los Angeles
    December 4, 2018
    Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles. SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier. The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we
    Read More
  • SmartStation group reveal the importance of intelligent stops
    March 13, 2018
    A SmartStation research and design project has worked with PTV Group and Raumobil to develop ideas on how to turn analogue stops into digital hubs, in Karlsruhe. The scheme, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, set out to reveal the importance of networked stations for multimodal mobility. The initiatives 18-month research phase identified that intelligent stops that include analogue facilities such as information terminals, escalators, elevators and lockers need to
    Read More
  • EU government joins forces with industry to transform road safety
    January 16, 2013
    The first V2X for Auto Safety & Mobility Conference, to be held in Frankfurt on 20-21 February, will bring together expert speakers from ITS UK, European Commission, BMW, Renault and Scania to devise a unified commercialisation and deployment strategy for vehicle and infrastructure technology to accelerate safety and mobility. Telematics Update, organisers of the conference, say that vehicle to vehicle communication will transform automotive safety, enabling deployment of effective active safety features fo
    Read More

Highlighted Content