Smart cities must be accessible by design
Smart Cities News04 Oct 2019by Sarah Wray: Editor, SmartCitiesWorld
While technology can help improve life in cities for people with disabilities, there’s a risk that without adequate oversight and appropriate input, it could widen inequality. Three city leaders share their ideas on making sure smart cities are accessible.
Smart solution vendors and city implementers must better consult end-users about accessibility and far earlier in the process, three leaders from the US’ largest cities concluded during a recent panel debate.
A billion people – 15 per cent of the world’s population – have some form of disability, including one in four people in the United States. We are also seeing a growing ageing population.
While technology can help improve life in cities for people with disabilities, there’s a risk that without adequate oversight and appropriate input, it could widen inequality. People with disabilities are already more likely than those without to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes, such as less education, poorer health, lower levels of employment and higher poverty rates.