IncluCITY 2: Creating inclusive infrastructure

Global Disability Innovation Hub
May 21, 2025
AT2030 Resources

Around the world, our cities are changing at an unprecedented pace by 2050, 70% of the global population is expected to live in urban areas (UN). Yet, rapid growth brings 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 has 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, this report draws 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 captures the on-the-ground insights, barriers, and aspirations that shape how people with disabilities experience their cities.

These findings drive the report’s evidence-based recommendations, providing practical steps any city can take to create more accessible infrastructure, buildings, services, and operations.

Speakers for this session are:

  1. Maisa Obeid Ph.D.,Manager Accessibility Sustainability Assurance Expo City Dubai
  2. Pareisse Wilson, an inclusive design strategic change management specialist and Associate Director in the Social Impact team at Mott MacDonald.
  3. George Ndege, President of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK)
  4. Gosa Zeleke, Disability Advocate and Inclusion Consultant.