IncluCITY 3: Making Services Inclusive

Around the world, cities were changing at an unprecedented pace. By 2050, 70% of the global population was expected to live in urban areas (UN). Yet, rapid growth brought pressing challenges: the effects of climate change, the rise of informal settlements, and persistent barriers to essential services.

In response, the Global Disability Innovation Hub launched a new resource—Delivering Inclusive Design in Cities: A Global Action Report—to help city planners, policymakers, and advocates enhance accessibility and inclusion in urban environments.

Building on four years of research under the UK Aid-funded AT2030 Programme, the report drew from six diverse city case studies (Varanasi in India, Surakarta in Indonesia, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Nairobi in Kenya, Freetown in Sierra Leone, and Medellín in Colombia). Through participatory co-design workshops with local partners, the research captured on-the-ground insights, barriers, and aspirations that shaped how people with disabilities experienced their cities.

These findings drove the report’s evidence-based recommendations, providing practical steps any city could take to create more accessible infrastructure, buildings, services, and operations. Experts, implementers, and urban residents from around the world came together to discuss the report’s findings, address key questions about inclusive design, and spotlight real-world examples of what had worked.

In this third webinar, the focus was on Making Services Inclusive—exploring inclusive services and facilities, including essential services, and how to create seamless cities with connected, inclusive service ecosystems. It examined different aspects of inclusive services, including policy, training, financing, design, implementation, and monitoring.