The accessibility of our cities is of paramount importance because disability is the one group that we will all be a part of if we live long enough. As we age, people become increasingly reliant on infrastructure and services that may for example have initially been designed for someone with a mobility or visual disability. Therefore what we ultimately should be looking for is excellence across all aspects of our urban environments. True accessibility is a race to the top.

This module presents the core ideas and definitions needed to understand in greater depth the various key accessibility concepts. It provides an understanding and practical examples of accessibility and how to build in features to ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy real equality in society. It explores the principles of universal design and why accessibility solutions can be produced to respond to a wide-range of expected end-user needs, interests, and capabilities – for persons with disabilities and non-disabled persons alike.

In this section you will learn from the first hand experiences of Karen Tamley, who is a member of the U.S. Federal Access Board. She is President and CEO of Access Living, a community based center that provides resources and support for persons with disabilities in Chicago.

Karen Tamley has expanded opportunities for the residents of Chicago both as a city official running the Mayor’s Office for Persons with Disabilities and now as a non-profit executive. Having worked as a city official, she understands first hand how her work on accessibility and her lived experience as a person with a disability can change a city. Let’s hear what she has to say.

Accessibility is more than just about ramps. When accessibility is done right, people feel like they really belong in their city. In this section, we come to understand how to leverage accessibility to make a better app, improve the urban environment, make better products and services, or change people’s attitudes to create a more inclusive society.

Accessibility is more than just about ramps. When accessibility is done right, people feel like they really belong in their city. In this section, we come to understand how to leverage accessibility to make a better app, improve the urban environment, make better products and services, or change people’s attitudes to create a more inclusive society.

Discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities can lead to the underutilization of their potential and limited or ineffective participation in society. Stigma and discrimination can adversely affect the dignity, confidence, and mental health of persons with disabilities.

In this section you will learn from the first hand experiences of disability rights advocate, Abia Akram. Abia is at the forefront of gender and disability advocacy in Pakistan and has expanded opportunities for women with disabilities in Pakistan and the greater Asia Pacific region.

Abia has always voiced the very strong message that you can’t have gender rights without disability rights, and you can’t have disability rights without gender rights. She talks a lot about her experience with discrimination and how we can protect women with disabilities from violence and abuse. Her leadership in Pakistan has dramatically changed the landscape and really put non-discrimination on the map throughout the Asia Pacific.

At a basic level, we all have some idea of what discrimination is. But it’s important to understand what the wider effects of discrimination are. In this way, we are trying to not just understand what discrimination and what can be done to stop it.

This module has been designed to explore in greater detail the most important concepts surrounding disability. These include disability justice, diversity, and the various models of disability that exist, and the effect they have on people’s lives.

These concepts are useful to students, decision-makers, urban practitioners, politicians, and government employees in gaining a more complete understanding of the principles that affect the inclusion and accessibility of persons with disabilities. They also play an important role in formulating, implementing, and evaluating the urban policies, plans, and programs that shape the accessibility of our cities.

Judith Heumann is a globally recognized disability rights advocate and champion for civil rights. Her experience of having a disability and the challenges that she has overcome provide a first-hand account of how disability relates to justice and human rights.

Judith is featured in the film Crip Camp. Crip Camp is the story of one group of people and captures one moment in time. There are hundreds of other equally important stories from the disability rights movement that have not yet received adequate attention. Learn more at cripcamp.com.

In this lesson, we will explore the important relationship between justice and disability. We will discover how the way we define disability fundamentally alters what it means to be a citizen as well as people’s freedom to work, travel, and interact with their environment.

An ever-increasing number of people around the world now live in cities. And cities shape virtually every aspect of global development, including the manner in which fundamental dignities and human rights are recognized, discussed and implemented. This rapid urbanization has provided opportunities for transformational change, moving at an accelerated pace to improve social inclusion, access to services, and livelihoods. Cities also play a vital role in engaging marginalized populations that might otherwise be at risk of exclusion.

But cities are also under immense pressure to make the most of these opportunities by ensuring that urban development is inclusive and responds to the rights of all persons, particularly persons with disabilities and older persons. Social exclusion, discrimination, marginalization, and insurmountable environmental, infrastructural, and attitudinal barriers pose significant challenges for building inclusive cities and providing equal access to all so that everyone can live long and prosperous lives in urban areas. To achieve this, we must seek to fully understand what disability is and how it affects people’s ability to engage and interact fully with the services and environments they need to access.

By the end of this introduction session, you will learn what disability is and isn’t and how the way we view it fundamentally affects the lives of billions of people around the world. You will have an appreciation that all members of society have the same basic human rights, which include civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights.