How can we plan, construct and maintain our streets, green areas and yards for accessibility? Practical guidelines were established in 2004 through cooperation involving the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Joensuu, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa. Working instructions were completed under the leadership of the Helsinki for All Project with the support of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

The guidelines form the basis for the City of Helsinki Accessibility Plan. They are also freely available for use by other municipalities, corporations and planners. The guidelines contain criteria for evaluating the accessibility of outdoor locations and instruction cards for applying them.

Criteria for accessibility and the instruction cards (SuRaKu)

SuRaKu Instruction Cards:

• 1 Pedestrian crossings and pavements (pdf) (doc)
• 2 Pedestrian streets and squares (pdf) (doc)
• 3 Differences in elevation (pdf) (doc)
• 4 Public courtyards (pdf) (doc)
• 5 Park paths and resting places (pdf) (doc)
• 6 Public playgrounds (pdf) (doc)
• 7 Public bus stop areas (pdf) (doc)
• 8 Temporary traffic arrangements (pdf) (doc)

SuRaKu Accessibility Criteria:

• 1 Kerbstones at pedestrian crossings (pdf)
• 2 Outdoor staircases (pdf)
• 3 Ramps (pdf)
• 4 Guidance paving flags (pdf)
• 5 Demarcation strips (pdf)
• 6 Loading islands (pdf)
• 7 Gutters and gullies (pdf)
• 8 Walking surfaces (pdf)
• 9 Pedestrian crossing markings (pdf)
• 10 Handrails (pdf)
• 11 Railings (pdf)
• 12 Pedestrian push-buttons posts (pdf)
• 13 Pedestrian crossing signs (pdf)
• 14 Seating (pdf)
• 15 Bollards in pedestrian zones (pdf)
• 16 Pedestrian refuge islands (pdf)
• 17 Tactile maps and information signboards (pdf)
• 18 Warning areas (pdf)
  
• Criteriatabels 1-18 (doc)

Mapping and evaluation guide for accessibility of outdoor locations (pdf, 8.7 Mb), guide cover (pdf, 547 Kb). The illustrated guide explains about pedestrian accessibility. It is suitable both as a check list and as study material (in Finnish).

SuRaKu stands for planning, constructing and maintaining. In Finnish that is suunnitella, rakentaa and kunnostaa.

How can we plan, construct and maintain our streets, green areas and yards for accessibility? Practical guidelines were established in 2004 through cooperation involving the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Joensuu, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa. Working instructions were completed under the leadership of the Helsinki for All Project with the support of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

The guidelines form the basis for the City of Helsinki Accessibility Plan. They are also freely available for use by other municipalities, corporations and planners. The guidelines contain criteria for evaluating the accessibility of outdoor locations and instruction cards for applying them.

Criteria for accessibility and the instruction cards (SuRaKu)

SuRaKu Instruction Cards:

• 1 Pedestrian crossings and pavements (pdf) (doc)
• 2 Pedestrian streets and squares (pdf) (doc)
• 3 Differences in elevation (pdf) (doc)
• 4 Public courtyards (pdf) (doc)
• 5 Park paths and resting places (pdf) (doc)
• 6 Public playgrounds (pdf) (doc)
• 7 Public bus stop areas (pdf) (doc)
• 8 Temporary traffic arrangements (pdf) (doc)

SuRaKu Accessibility Criteria:

• 1 Kerbstones at pedestrian crossings (pdf)
• 2 Outdoor staircases (pdf)
• 3 Ramps (pdf)
• 4 Guidance paving flags (pdf)
• 5 Demarcation strips (pdf)
• 6 Loading islands (pdf)
• 7 Gutters and gullies (pdf)
• 8 Walking surfaces (pdf)
• 9 Pedestrian crossing markings (pdf)
• 10 Handrails (pdf)
• 11 Railings (pdf)
• 12 Pedestrian push-buttons posts (pdf)
• 13 Pedestrian crossing signs (pdf)
• 14 Seating (pdf)
• 15 Bollards in pedestrian zones (pdf)
• 16 Pedestrian refuge islands (pdf)
• 17 Tactile maps and information signboards (pdf)
• 18 Warning areas (pdf)
  
• Criteriatabels 1-18 (doc)

Mapping and evaluation guide for accessibility of outdoor locations (pdf, 8.7 Mb), guide cover (pdf, 547 Kb). The illustrated guide explains about pedestrian accessibility. It is suitable both as a check list and as study material (in Finnish).

SuRaKu stands for planning, constructing and maintaining. In Finnish that is suunnitella, rakentaa and kunnostaa.

IBM and Carnegie Mellon University To Create Smarter Infrastructure Lab

Collaborative Research Will Aim To Make Cities and Businesses More Intelligent

PITTSBURGH--IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) announced today that they will create a collaborative research lab at the university to undertake research and create technologies to help cities, governments and industries worldwide develop smarter infrastructures.

The new lab is part of the Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator (PSII) and will be located within theDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering on the CMU campus in Pittsburgh, PA. The (PSII) is a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania economic development initiative to create an incubator for advanced infrastructure technology in partnership with industry and the state. The lab is planned to be operational in the fall of 2010.

The IBM Smarter Infrastructure Lab at Carnegie Mellon University will develop technologies that are consistent with IBM's Smarter Planet initiative, IBM's offerings in Business Analytics and Optimization, and CMU's work within itsCenter for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research. The new lab will be a focal point and catalyst for collaboration with like-minded research colleagues from IBM Research and across CMU including their engineering, architecture, public policy and business schools. It will also be an important resource at Carnegie Mellon University to educate and train future scientists and engineers to build smarter cities.

At the lab, researchers will collect and analyze massive amounts of data about the physical condition and energy efficiency of buildings, water pipelines and other infrastructure on which governments, businesses and societies depend. One of the research initiatives the lab will undertake is to explore physical infrastructures with innovative digital sensor networks that will produce large amounts of new data that will be acquired in real-time and integrated with advanced analytical tools. Such analysis will be directed to detect patterns, understand exposure to risks, and help predict outcomes of management and operational decisions with greater certainty.

"At Carnegie Mellon, we've been working for a number of years on interdisciplinary research to help better manage critical infrastructure using advanced technologies. Our goal has been to deploy a variety of sensors to collect significant amounts of new data that can be analyzed and turned into actionable information so that people who build, maintain or manage infrastructure can do so in a more efficient and cost effective manner," said James H. Garrett, Jr., the Thomas Lord professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "IBM's much appreciated support will help establish a new, state-of-the-art lab where we will be able to showcase research and technology development on our Pittsburgh campus. In addition to supporting us with technology and analytical tools, our collaboration with IBM will also enable highly valuable interactions with IBM researchers worldwide in this domain."
 
Government agencies at the municipal, city, state and federal level along with businesses from diverse industry sectors will be invited to partner with the lab.  Some of these partners will make data from their diverse infrastructures available to the lab while others may provide complementary technologies or support additional research activity. The lab will also be integrated with a new Collaboration and Distance Learning Center to be located in CMU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where leaders can meet -- either physically or virtually -- to learn how smarter infrastructures can make them more competitive.

"Making the infrastructure of our cities, communities, and industries more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent can make it more sustainable from both an economic and an environmental perspective," said Wayne Balta, vice president, corporate environmental affairs and product safety, IBM. "With Carnegie Mellon University's renowned reputation in engineering and IBM's leadership regarding a Smarter Planet and business analytics, this new lab can drive innovation and develop new technologies to help leaders worldwide optimize their use of finite resources."

Contacts: Randy Zane / IBM Media Relations / 914-945-1655 / rzane@us.ibm.com
                Chriss Swaney / Carnegie Mellon / 412-268-5776 / swaney@andrew.cmu.edu

Eight out of 10 workers with disabilities prefer the option to telecommute to other sought-after perks; paid time off tops list

(CHICAGO) May 7, 2013 -- Workers with disabilities say telecommuting is a key workplace benefit, with eight out of 10 (81.1%) saying they would like the option to telecommute at least part time, according to a national survey released by Think Beyond the Label, a private-public collaborative that helps businesses and the public workforce system connect to job seekers with disabilities.

Telecommuting was the second-ranked workplace benefit (39.3%) in the national survey released today, surpassing flexible spending programs, which help pay for costs such as healthcare and commuting (14.2%), onsite fitness centers and services (2.0%) and free or subsidized meals (0.8%) as the most wanted employee perk, just behind paid time off (42.5%), such as for maternity leave.

More than a perk

Less than one-third (28.7%) of respondents say their employer currently offers telecommuting, though more than half (67.1%) say they would work for a company even if it did not offer telecommuting at least part time. Still, telecommuting can be more than a perk for some people with disabilities. Of respondents who say they telecommute:

-More than one-third (37.1%) telecommute because their employer lets them

-One in five (20%) telecommute because their office is located far away from where they live

-17.1% telecommute to accommodate a disability

-4.3% telecommute because of inadequate public or private transportation options

"People with disabilities, like anyone else, look for jobs that offer strong workplace benefits such as telecommuting," says Barbara Otto, CEO of Health & Disability Advocates, the Chicago-based policy and advocacy organization that operates Think Beyond the Label. "This survey underscores the need for moreemployers to offer telecommuting as a way to cast a wider net for talent and open up more full-time employment opportunities to all workers, regardless of a disability."

Otto cites Fortune's100 Best Companies to Work For in 2013, where eight of the top 10 companies offer telecommuting options, and DiversityInc's Top 10 Companies for People with Disabilities, where flexible work options are a criterion for the award.

Productivity enhancement

Most workers with disabilities (73.5%) say they believe telecommuting makes them more efficient in their jobs, and the majority (70.6%) says they do not require accessible or assistive technologies to perform their jobs remotely. For those who do require technologies (29.4%), the majority of the solutions cost less than $500:

·Nearly half (48.6%) use a keyboard or mouse solution

·Four out of 10 (40%) use accessible tablets and smart phones

·About one-third (34.3%) use communications tools such as dictation software or speech-to-text programs

·Nearly one in four (24.3%) use adjustable-height desks

·About one in five (21.4%) use a screen reader

Think Beyond the Label 2013 Online Career Fair Series

To help employers recruit more qualified workers with disabilities, Think Beyond the Label is partnering with Brazen Careerist on a series of online career fairs. Past and upcoming participating employers include AT&T, Boeing, NextEra Energy, Pearson, The Hartford, Union Pacific, United Health Group, University of North Carolina, the University of Southern California and more.

DATES: May 21, July 30 and Oct. 22

TIMES: 1.00 pm - 4.00 pm Eastern Time

SIGN UP: Online registration is available now

About the Survey

This survey was commissioned by Think Beyond the Label and conducted April 15 to April 26, 2013. This online survey reflects a sampling of more than 200 respondents who are employed or seeking work; the majority (93.2%) self-identified as a person with a disability. Approximately two-thirds of survey participants (65.3%) have a bachelor's degree or higher, and the majority (85.8%) hold six or more years of job experience.

The project will create a network of alliances and a series of resources allowing travelers with disabilities to travel throughout Brazil once they are there for the 2016 Paralympics and Olympics and for the FIFA Soccer World Cup next year. The expo on April 18 will bring key stakeholders together. I need to I need to get down there to bring them to agreement on the project and secure their funding.  I can't give complete details on the major project until after the Brazilian government signs on but I can promise that I won't just be spending time on the beach after the negotiations this trip.

The Singapore Accessible Building Code.

European Beach Access Best Practices from Elsa Integracio.

The Universal Design Mark Awards are voluntary standards for inclusion set forward by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore. They were established in 2012.

The Accessibility symbol website is an accessibility databank, featuring a collection of relevant pictograms and general information on accessibility signeage.

The databank is based on the 'Accessibility symbol project' conducted by the 'Helsinki for All' project and interest groups in 2010-2011. The purpose of this project was to compile and design pictograms indicating accessible functions and general public services that need to be accessible and clearly signposted.

The databank includes symbols designed and drawn in the course of the project as well as existing accessibility symbols already in use. In many cases, the new symbols are based on existing ones. The symbols designed in the course of the project form a coherent series that can be deployed on service maps, indoor signs, outdoor signs and online publicity. The symbols were designed by Kokoro & Moi Oy.

In addition to accessibility symbols, there are many general service symbols in the databank. There are also pointers to standards and design directives featuring pictograms.

The pictograms in the databank are divided into the following categories:

• Accessibility
• Public transport
• Leisure time (including sports and culture)
• Premises and services (symbols indicating services available at a facility, functional symbols and symbols for various types of facilities)
• Standardised symbols (standard and official symbols whose use is subject to a permit)
  

The databank now has its first collection of pictograms, and it will be added to from time to time.

Note that not all of the symbols in the databank are free for use; there are standard and official symbols for whose use a separate permit must be obtained. Information on whom to contact regarding the use and availability of these symbols is included in the databank. All of the symbols developed in the 'Accessibility symbol project' may be used freely for non-commercial purposes. You can find all those symbols here.

The symbols developed in the project may be downloaded in JPEG format and AI (vector graphics) format. Some of the symbols compiled from other databanks are available in EPS format in addition to JPEG.

Source: http://www.hel.fi/hki/HKR/en/Helsinki+for+All/Accessibility+symbols

From the Anchorage Press:

The 6th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will take place from 17-19 July 2013. A day prior to the Conference a Civil Society Forum will be held on 16 July.

The following deadlines apply:

NGO application for accreditation: 31 May 2013
NGO registration: 8 July 2013
Side-event application: 31 May 2013

More information is posted at:http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=1606

Sincerely,

Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Division for Social Policy and Development
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
Mailing address: United Nations, S-2914, New York, NY 10017
Email: enable@un.org
Web: http://www.un.org/disabilities

 

 

Destinations for All

Tourism, culture and transportation

for people with restricted physical ability

A World Summit in Montréal in October 2014

 

Montréal, June 4^th, 2012 - The number of international tourist arrivals is expected to climb to one billion in 2012.[1] Persons with physical limitations account for roughly 15% of the population[2] and this number should continue to rise given the aging demographic. Like everyone else, people with disabilities travel for business and pleasure, to visit friends and relatives, and to discover other ways of life, just with slightly greater difficulty.

 

How do we accommodate tourists with disabilities? Are our infrastructures, buildings and establishments adapted to be easily accessible to all? Can we safely aspire to reach international accessibility standards and benchmarks? Do "accessible" rooms in Montréal and elsewhere around the globe live up to the world traveller's expectations? How can a disabled person be sure his or her chosen destination is truly accessible? Is our front-line staff properly trained to host these guests and provide appropriate services? Which best practices from the tourism, culture and transportation industries should be considered model practices? What measures should these industries take to substantially facilitate the participation of individuals with disabilities in cultural and tourist activities?

 

Those are just some of the questions that will be discussed at the DESTINATIONS FOR ALL World Summit that is set to take place in Montréal from October 19 to 22, 2014.

 

The Summit's sub-heading expresses the actual scope of the topic at hand:

Tourism, culture and transportation:

A common strategy at the international level

 

 

In fact, the major sector-based organizations from the tourism, culture and transportation industries will be invited to unveil at least two changes they undertake to make to significantly improve travel and tourism conditions for persons with disabilities. This World Summit should also prompt partners to join in an effort to make accessibility benchmarks and standards uniform across tourist establishments, attractions and transportation services.

 

The Summit will be organized by a steering committee comprising representatives of the organizations most active in promoting tourism accessibility globally, namely:

• The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (unwto.org)
• The World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED) (ced.travel/en)
• The European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) (accessibletourism.org)
• Tourisme et Handicaps - France (tourisme-handicaps.org)
• Fundación ONCE - Spain (fundaciononce.es/EN)
• Access Tourism New Zealand (accesstourismnz.org.nz)          

·        The Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality (SATH) - USA (sath.org)

• Transport Canada's Transportation Development Centre (http://www.tc.gc.ca/fra/innovation/cdt-menu.htm)
• The Ministère du Tourisme du Québec (MTO) (bonjourquebec.com)
• Kéroul, Tourism and culture for people with restricted physical ability (keroul.qc.ca/en)

 (A detailed description of these organizations is included in the appendix.)

 

The International Center for Education and Research in Tourism (CIFORT) will hold, simultaneously, a scientific seminar regarding the Summit's thematic.

 

André Vallerand, Chairman of the CED and Special Advisor to the UNWTO Secretary General, will chair the Summit's Steering Committee. Here, he highlights the event's primary focus:

"At a time when the population of the Western world is aging and international tourism continues to grow, it is crucial for domestic and global partners to consolidate their expertise and join forces to make travel and tourism easier for disabled persons."

 

For Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO, this event will facilitate the fulfillment of the objectives of the UNWTO's Global Code of Ethics for Tourism:

"Promoting accessible tourism is at the heart of UNWTO's mandate and we are delighted to be an active part of the DESTINATIONS FOR ALL World Summit in Montréal. Through the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, UNWTO is committed to upholding the rights of the most vulnerable communities, particularly the elderly and the disabled. I firmly believe the Summit will be an opportunity to come up with solutions to considerably improve travel, accommodation and accessibility conditions across tourist attractions and services for persons with disabilities."

Minister of Tourism Nicole Ménard believes that the World Summit reflects the importance of launching initiatives to promote accessible tourism:

"The World Summit is assembling leading organizations to foster cooperation among stakeholders through the accessibility of destinations. I would like to pay tribute to the efforts made by Kéroul, an official partner of the Ministère du Tourisme for the past 25 years, which is working intensely to make Québec a destination accessible to everyone."

 

Without question, the DESTINATIONS FOR ALL World Summit in Montréal is an event ALL are invited to attend!

 

For event details, please check the site www.keroul.qc.ca/en regularly and sign up to our newsletter.