The European Award for Accessible Cities is now open for entries!

The European Commission is launching the competition for the 2017 Access City Award - the European award for cities that are accessible to disabled and older people. EU cities over 50,000 inhabitants are invited to submit their applications by 8 September 2016 (midnight Brussels time).

This year, awards will be granted to five EU cities at a ceremony taking place during the annual European Day of People with Disabilities Conference in Brussels, on 29 November 2016. The winning cities will be rewarded for their efforts to make it easier for the disabled and older people to gain access to public and private areas such as housing, children’s play areas, work environments, public transport, and communication technologies. The Access City Award is organised by the European Commission together with the European Disability Forum.

Two special mentions

This seventh edition of the Access City Award will comprise first, second and third prizes plus two special mentions:

The 'access to work' special mention will reward efforts undertaken by cities to ensure that public employment services, as well as initiatives by the private sector, facilitate access to work and make information on jobs accessible to people with disabilities. This can for example be initiatives increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities through improvement of accessibility in workplaces or in transport to ensure that every part of the journey from home to the workplace is accessible.

The 'accessible smart cities' special mention will recognise efforts by cities to ensure that they become smart in an inclusive manner, in particular ensuring that their technologies, user interfaces and related services are accessible for people with disabilities thanks to a 'design for all' approach.

80 million people with disabilities

There are around 80 million people with disabilities in the EU. As the EU population ages, this number will grow. It has consequently become increasingly important to create environments within which people can live independently and with dignity throughout their lives.

Since 2010, the Access City Award rewards cities for creating more accessible and inclusive environments in all areas of life. Over the last six years, more than 250 cities have applied for the award and 33 have been rewarded. Good examples of projects have come up year after year, demonstrating cities' enthusiasm and commitment.

The Award is part of the EU's wider efforts to create a barrier-free Europe. Improved accessibility helps remove the numerous barriers that people with disabilities still face in their daily life, when using transports, accessing information, or living independently.

The Access City Award illustrates a very wide range of initiatives and policies covered: from policies on accessible housing, to children’s play areas, workplaces and public transport information; every aspect of city life needs to take account of the changing demographics.

The competition provides a golden opportunity for public authorities to look at the pluses and minuses of their city in terms of accessibility and take action to improve.

In line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, accessibility is one of the pillars of the European Union’s Disability Strategy 2010-2020 which aims at creating a barrier-free Europe for all.

Which cities won in previous years?

In the sixth edition, Milan (Italy) is the winner of the 2016 Access City Award. Wiesbaden (Germany) received the second place as recognition for their efforts to create a city which is accessible to all its citizens, Toulouse (France) won the third prize and also the inaugural special mention for being a “Smart City  for making a commitment to the city’s disabled and older population through the means of technology and creating a task force for that purpose. Vaasa (Finland) was awarded a special mention for its commitment to improving the working environment of its older and disabled populations and Kaposvár (Hungary) was awarded with a special mention for commitment to improvement.

In the fifth edition, the winner was Borås (Sweden). Helsinki (Finland) took the second prize and the third prize was awarded to Ljubljana (Slovenia). Logroño (Spain) was awarded a special mention in the field of the built environment and public spaces, Budapest (Hungary) received a special mention for its work in the field of transportation. Arona (Spain) and Luxembourg got a special mention for public facilities and services.

In the fourth edition , the 2014 winner was Gothenburg (Sweden). Grenoble (France) took the second prize, Poznań (Poland) the third prize, and the special mentions went to Belfast (UK), Dresden (Germany), Burgos and Málaga (Spain).

In the third edition, the Award was given to the German city of Berlin. Nantes (France) and Stockholm (Sweden) were the other two finalists, with special mentions going to Pamplona (Spain) for the built environment and public spaces, Gdynia (Poland) for transport and related infrastructures, Bilbao (Spain) for information and communication, including new technologies and Tallaght (Ireland) for public facilities and services.

For the second edition, the Austrian city of Salzburg was named the overall winner. The three finalist runners-up were Kraków (Poland), Marburg (Germany) and Santander (Spain). Special mentions went to Terrassa (Spain), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Olomouc (Czech Republic) and Grenoble (France).

In the 2010 inaugural edition , the winning city was Ávila in Spain. The three other finalists were Barcelona (Spain), Cologne (Germany) and Turku (Finland).

How to apply?

Applications must be made by completing and submitting the online application form (in English, French or German) by 8 September 2016 at the latest. A guidance note and the participation rules are available in all the official EU languages here:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=88&eventsId=1113

How are the applicants selected?

Up to three cities will be selected by national juries in each country based on the evaluation criteria provided by the European Commission. These national candidates will then be assessed by a European Jury.

For more information on the background of the Access City Award:

Would you like to have your city projects featured in the next booklet of the Access City Award? If you want to share your experiences and actions with other cities, read more about the Access City Award on: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=15399〈Id=en