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Smart cities are for everyone. Municipalities embracing smart city tools and solutions may focus on big projects (like road and highway infrastructure) and enabling citizenswho already own technological tools (such as smart phones and home computers). The problem with this approach is that it does not consider who might be left out of benefiting from these improved services. Not everyone owns a car or a smart phone. Similarly, smart technologies often presume that all users are similarly abled, when we know that this is not so. Persons with disabilities face multiple layers of marginalization and require specific services to participate in civic decision-making.
We should always ask of every smart city proposal and initiative, who is left out? Just as a municipality must serve all who live within its boundaries, a smart city must similarly benefit all. Benefitting all doesn’t just mean pulling everyone under the same umbrella – in some cases, there will be groups who require additional tools or investments in order to facilitate equitable participation. This is not simpley a question of who is left out of the smart city: rather, inclusion principles ask whether a technology or approach reinforces or replicates existing inequalities, or even creates new groups who are treated inequitably.
Fortunately, there are many smart city solutions and technologies that focus on accessibility and inclusion. Some examples include:
- Free municipal WIFI. Municipalities cannot use smart city tools to reach the disability community if residents lack access to the internet. Adding WIFI routers to public areas that are accessible to the disability community will improve online access to services.
- Digital accessibility maps. Municipal maps driven by resident-contributed data can rate the accessibility of different areas in the municipality. Residents will have access to information on accessibility such as whether a particular location has a ramp, braille text, and automatic doors.
- Service delivery telephone systems. Residents may dial in for information on municipal services such as transportation, request accommodations for public events, and be updated on changes to municipal disability policies.
- Service delivery telephone systems. Residents may dial in for information on municipal services such as transportation, request accommodations for public events, and be updated on changes to municipal disability policies.
- Customer Service Applications. Designing applications that combine multidisciplinary professional services (legal, medical, or social) can resolve the multi-layered issues people with disability face without having to redirect the resident to a variety of services. The application can screen an issue and identify what type of professional the resident needs. These applications can also assist the wider resident community as anyone can utilize this service.
G3ict, “Smart Cities for All Toolkit”. * A set of tools intended to help government officials, policy makers and others design smart cities with a focus on accessibility of information and communications technologies by persons with disabilities and older persons, including, for example, a checklist to follow when developing a public procurement policy for technology.
Citizen Lab, The guide to inclusion in e-democracy
Treasury Board Secretariat, Directive on Automated Decision Making
Government of Canada, Algorithmic Impact Assessment
Deloitte, “Inclusive smart cities: Delivering digital solutions for all” * Provides a framework to incorporate and prioritize inclusivity at each phase of a smart city initiative and includes examples of approaches cities have taken to address inclusivity.
OpenNorth, “Open Smart Cities Guide”. * This guide provides a definition of an Open Smart City and discusses community-centric development of smart cities including examples of various smart city initiatives.
Frontiers, “The Concept of Sustainability in Smart City Definitions”. * This paper reviews the definitions of smart cities found in literature and suggests that while sustainability-oriented definitions are prevalent, the current implementation of smart cities tend to prioritize technology before the social aspect.
Aimi Hamraie, “A Smart City Is an Accessible City”, The Atlantic (November 6, 2018). * An overview of digital-accessibility maps and related technologies which attempt to address inclusivity of persons with disabilities, including examples and potential issues.
Global Commission on Internet Governance, “One Internet”. * A comprehensive look at building an open and accessible internet for everyone, including the issue of the “digital divide” between those with and without access to the Internet.