How can cities be made more accessible for disabled people?

Europe is an urban continent. The vast majority of the EU population – four out of every five people – live in a town or city. For the roughly 80 million EU citizens who have some form of disability, navigating the bustling maze of a city can pose all sorts of challenges. People with disabilities would often like to be more mobile and independent, so are there better ways to design cities so they are more accessible for everybody?

There might be no wheelchair lifts on local buses, or no Braille on signposts, or perhaps there are annoying steps that block people in wheelchairs (or people with prams, or mobility strollers) from entering a building. Should city planners and architects consider these issues more carefully? And, where there are accessibility challenges, can technology help us overcome them?

How can cities be made more accessible? Can new technology help us to achieve that goal? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!  

How can cities be made more accessible for disabled people? I see it the other way around. How can disabled people adapt better and faster to evolving cities? No offence, but I see it as a more rational solution. 

More rational? We already pay out for expensive wheelchairs and mobility aids as it, without being expected to pay more. Especially in this era when disabilities benefits are being stripped away from us. Forward planning is what needed to ensure that all European towns and cities are accessible to all. 

A good starting point is to start PLANNING! It is as simple as that, PLAN for the accessibility of disabled and limited mobility people. The European population is aging, in case planners have not noticed, and they also need and will continue needing more accessibility. There has been no planning. Only bandaids applied here and there.  

Please add to the list accessible toilet facilities. 

Maybe Tokio is a good example, but Japan is not. Most train/metro stations do not have a lift. 

Hey, we’re living in the 21st century! Isn’t it better to make robotized aids for the people with disabilities in such a way that they can go anywhere a healthy person can, instead of making the environment accessible?