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Exploring Barrier-Free as a Catalyst to Smart Cities Initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa
Item
Title
Exploring Barrier-Free as a Catalyst to Smart Cities Initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa
Date
2019
Language
English
Abstract
The Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities both strive to make all cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient without discrimination. Actions through policies, legislation and advocacy have been employed by Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) governments to achieve barrier free environments with little progress. Smart community initiatives can become a potential conduit for speeding the development of barrier free environments in these countries. The study thus explores the concept of barrier free as a catalyst in smarting communities’ initiatives in Africa. An exploratory mixed methods approach is used through the review of epistemological assumptions of smart communities and surveys of perceptions of people from the university community. Case studies of selected smart city initiatives and smart university campuses were reviewed, and KNUST (as a microcosm of a city) with a population of 50,000 was used as a case study. The study revealed the silent nature of current smart city characteristics on barrier free features whilst technology and people remain the backbone of inclusive smart community initiatives. Again most respondents are optimistic of its success in SSA, though cautioning its cost. A low smart index score of 36.9 was recorded on the KNUST Campus. This study provides vital data to policy makers on implementation of integrated barrier free and smart community initiatives in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Bibliographic Citation
Danquah, J. A., Marful, A. B., & Duah, D. (2019, April). Exploring barrier-free as a catalyst to smart cities initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa. In 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society (pp. 339-351).
Collection
Citation
“Exploring Barrier-Free as a Catalyst to Smart Cities Initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa,” CSIRSpace, accessed September 8, 2024, http://cspace.csirgh.com/items/show/371.