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Smart Cities
Special Issues
Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities
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Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities

A special issue of Smart Cities (ISSN 2624-6511).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 21962

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Cecilia Sik-Lanyi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Systems, University of Pannonia, Egyetem u. 10, 8200 Veszprem, Hungary
Interests: assistive technology; WEB accessibility; virtual reality; serious games; human-computer interaction; colour science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on “Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities”.

Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. An environment (or any building, product, or service in that environment) should be designed to meet the needs of all people who wish to use it. This is not a special requirement for the benefit of only a minority of the population. It is a fundamental condition of good design. If an environment is accessible, usable, convenient, and pleasurable to use, everyone benefits (http://universaldesign.ie/What-is-Universal-Design/).

Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Assistive technology can include mobility devices such as walkers and wheelchairs, as well as hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities in accessing computers or other information technologies (https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-assistive-technology).

The goal for this Special Issue in the journal Smart Cities is to show the latest research, innovation, applications, and practice for helping the independent living of people with disabilities or elderly people, covering equal opportunity and easy-to-use everyday objects, as well as services in smart cities.

Considering the huge potential impact that universal design and assistive technologies have on people’s health, well-being, and participation in society, the focus of research that links universal design and/or assistive technologies to people’s opportunities for a healthy and active life is incomprehensively scare. Research is needed on the design and development of accessible products and services. This topic is crucially important if we look at the demographic exchange in developed countries—the number of elderly people is increasing, and the number of people with disabilities is increasing in developing countries.

Thus, we are inviting research on all aspects of universal design and assistive technologies; we provide some keywords below that suggest just a few of the many possibilities.

Dr. Cecilia Sik-Lanyi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Smart Cities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • universal design
  • assistive technology
  • accessible Web
  • digital accessibility
  • accessibility standardization
  • usability
  • equal opportunities
  • smart cities’ intelligent solutions
  • smart environments
  • independent living
  • IT for older people and people with disabilities
  • sensors for navigation
  • artificial intelligence
  • sustainability
  • social networks

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 19938 KiB  
Article
Smart Economy and Startup Enterprises in the Visegrád Countries—A Comparative Analysis Based on the Crunchbase Database
by Petra Kinga Kézai, Szabolcs Fischer and Mihály Lados
Smart Cities 2020, 3(4), 1477-1494; https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities3040070 - 3 Dec 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 10064
Abstract
The present study seeks to explore the concept of “smart economy” through the definition of the smart city. It also presents smart city subsystems and the smart city model. It focuses on smart and creative startups within the smart city model. The research [...] Read more.
The present study seeks to explore the concept of “smart economy” through the definition of the smart city. It also presents smart city subsystems and the smart city model. It focuses on smart and creative startups within the smart city model. The research examines medium-sized cities in the Visegrád countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary) with a population ranging from 100,000 to 1 million inhabitants for startups. The research question is: Where are the medium-sized cities in the Visegrád countries that are both startup centers and smart cities? In the course of the research, the term “smart cities” was based on the definition set by the European Commission and the definition of startup centers was made using data analysis of the American Crunchbase database. As a result of the two studies, it can be concluded that there are no cities in the Visegrád countries with an above average level of both startup presence and smart cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities)
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19 pages, 2105 KiB  
Article
When Design Fiction Meets Geospatial Sciences to Create a More Inclusive Smart City
by Andrée-Anne Blacutt and Stéphane Roche
Smart Cities 2020, 3(4), 1334-1352; https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities3040064 - 11 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5414
Abstract
Smart cities are especially suited for improving urban inclusion by combining digital transition and social innovation. To be smart, a city has to provide every citizen with urban spaces, public services, and common goods that are effectively affordable, whatever the citizen’s gender, culture, [...] Read more.
Smart cities are especially suited for improving urban inclusion by combining digital transition and social innovation. To be smart, a city has to provide every citizen with urban spaces, public services, and common goods that are effectively affordable, whatever the citizen’s gender, culture, origin, race, or impairment. Based on two design workshops, the “Vibropod” and the “Pointe-aux-Lièvres”, this paper aims at highlighting the contributions of design fiction to the improvement of the spatial capability of hearing impaired people. This research draws its originality from both its conceptual framework, built on an interdisciplinary and intersectoral composition of arts and sciences, and its operational approach, based on the use of the DeafSpace markers and the TRIZ theory (Russian acronym for Inventive Problem Solving Theory) principles. The two design fiction workshops demonstrate that considering the singularity of the human being as an actual acoustic material constitutes an innovative opportunity to improve the role of universal design in a smart city project. By reversing the classic posture, and defining disability by looking at characteristics of the environment rather than as limits of the people themselves (their bodies or their senses), this research proposes an innovative way of addressing smart city inclusivity issues. This paper shows how increasing spatial enablement and having better control of spatial skills can offer deaf people new skills to improve the use of technology in support of urban mobility, as well as give them tools for feeling safer in urban environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities)
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41 pages, 11166 KiB  
Article
Universal Open Space Design to Inform Digital Technologies for a Disability-Inclusive Place-Making on the Example of Hungary
by Gabriella Szaszák and Tibor Kecskés
Smart Cities 2020, 3(4), 1293-1333; https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities3040063 - 10 Nov 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5420
Abstract
This study explores the ‘people’ and ‘place’ components of the smart city concept in order to inform its third component, ‘technology’, for augmented disability inclusion. The research objective was to reveal the capability of the universal open space design (UOSD) method in classifying [...] Read more.
This study explores the ‘people’ and ‘place’ components of the smart city concept in order to inform its third component, ‘technology’, for augmented disability inclusion. The research objective was to reveal the capability of the universal open space design (UOSD) method in classifying key spatial factors according to their type of digital applicability as a channel or subject for information and communication technologies (ICTs). Results were derived from three Hungarian design projects presented as case studies, using the research through design (RtD) method. User needs and usage patterns, open space environmental components and types according to their tolerance towards physical modification, and relevant disability-related concepts linked to UOSD were hierarchized and interrelated to digital technologies that can replace or complement the environmental components. Findings were represented in the spatial Maslow pyramid of user needs related to the relevant spatial design concepts, open spaces public services, and digital technologies. The results showed that upper (less basic) levels of the digital Maslow pyramid related to public services other than transport and concepts other than physical accessibility lack digital completion or replacement. In particular, a more detailed and consistent knowledge about spatial–digital interrelations for sensory accessibility should be incorporated into the practical and theoretical background of “smart” UOSD. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates how the combination of the concepts of UOSD and the smart city support a more complex disability-inclusive experience in an interconnected physical, sociocultural, and digital network of open spaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Universal Design and Assistive Technologies for Accessibility in Smart Cities)
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