When my group listed inaccessibility as a common negative feature of cities, I thought immediately of physical accessibility: wheelchair ramps, preferred seating on public transportation. I also tried to think about other ways people are excluded from the city and what improvements could make a city more accessible to everyone.
Physical Accessibility
If you look at a map of London’s Underground, for example, you might notice that many of its central stops are not wheelchair-accessible. Many more stops on the borders of the map are accessible than these central stops which tend to be older, less spacious, and more often underground. Is there a smart city solution to this problem?
Below, is an accessibility solution for public buses.
Unfortunately, many train stations and buildings have the added obstacle of stairs.
Escalators are a partial solution, but do not solve the transport problem for everyone. Elevators can and have been implemented in some tube stations, but the space and layout may not always allow for elevator installation. I’ve seen large wheelchairs that are designed to climb stairs, but I wondered if there was a stair-solution that could be available to everyone.
What if there were some sort of public wheelchair stair lift for the elderly, unwell, injured, or wheelchair-bound? Space and speed would likely be issues.
Language and Cultural Accessibility
Large cities draw visitors from all over the world. How basic signs and interactions be made accessible to people who are not familiar with them?
- Labels, signage
- Public transport announcements
- Speaking to cashiers at shops
- Sitting, ordering, paying at restaurants
- Public transport processes and payment
Language translation technology is advancing quickly. Small handheld tools like the one pictured below claim to translate almost instantly while offline. How could something like this be used for infrastructure a larger scale rather than for individuals?
Financial Accessibility
Cities tend to be some of the most expensive places to live, but employ people in all ranges of salary.
Cost of living including rent, food, and clothing are often higher in the city than surrounding areas. The cost of commuting from a less expensive area into a city can also become a large expense.
Can a smart city lower cost of living?
This McKinsey report suggests that some features of a smart city may lower it slightly:
- Digitizing some of the more bureaucratic parts of the construction process could lead to the construction of more homes which could lower the cost of rent
- Smart applications could encourage the more stringent use of utilities like electricity and encourage more consistent use of healthcare
Smart City Design Workbook 