Access City Award 2012: Which European city is the most accessible for people with disabilities?

In European countries, there are cities which are more accessible for people with disabilities and others which are less accessible. In 2010 a competition to find the most accessible city in Europe started. Since then, the competition takes place every year. This year’s most accessible European cities are: Grenoble in France, Krakow in Poland, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Marburg in Germany, Olomouc in Czech Republic, Salzburg in Austria and Santander and Terrassa in Spain. We will know which of these cities will be the winner of the competition on 1 December 2011. You can find more information about the competition here.

Grenoble in France, Kraków in Poland, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Marburg in Germany, Olomouc in Czech Republic, Salzburg in Austria, Santander and Terrassa in Spain are the European cities, which claim the Access City Award 2012.

Initiated by the European Commission in partnership with the European Disability Forum, the Access City Award aims at rewarding cities with over 50.000 inhabitants, which have taken over exemplary initiatives to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities focusing on four key areas:

• the built environment and public spaces;
• transport and related infrastructure
• information and communication, including new technologies (ICT);
• public facilities and services

The final 8 cities for Access City Award 2012 were selected by a European jury of experts in accessibility and representatives of the European Disability Forum after a pre-selection by 23 national juries.

The overall winner will be announces at an Award Ceremony, which will take place in Brussels on the 1^st December, on the occasion of the Conference marking the European Day of Persons with Disabilities. For more information on this day, you can follow this link.

The winning city is committed to continue the improvements in accessibility in a sustainable way, acting as a good example to other European cities. On the other hand, the other 3 finalist are also given recognition for developing comprehensive plans to address accessibility in the competition’s four areas.

More information for the competition and the Access City Award is provided at www.accesscityaward.eu.