Porto nominated for the European Access City 2022 award

An award that recognises the efforts of cities to become free of barriers and accessible to people with disabilities will be presented on December 3rd .

The European Commission announced this Monday that Porto is part of the restricted group of cities pre-selected for the Access City Award 2022. In addition to the Invicta, five other European cities are in the running for this award that distinguishes efforts to eliminate barriers and make public space accessible to people with disabilities.

This year, 40 cities or urban regions, with more than 50 thousand inhabitants, competed, and the winners of the 12th edition of the award will be announced on December 3rd. Porto is one of the nominees, along with Barcelona (Spain), Helsinki (Finland), Leuven (Belgium), Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and Palma (Mallorca, Spain), is the list released by Lusa.

Winning cities will demonstrate the best ways to facilitate access for the disabled to public and private spaces, including home, the workplace, public transportation, playgrounds, and information and communication technologies.

In this Editions, and within the scope of the European Year of the Railway, a special mention will also be given to the city that has done the most to make its stations accessible to people with disabilities.

The Access City Award recognises and honours a city’s willingness, ability, and efforts to become more accessible and to guarantee equal access to fundamental rights, improve population’s quality of life, and ensure that all its citizens, regardless their age, degree of mobility or faculties, have equal access to all the available resources and leisure activities.

Within the scope of the Plan to promote Accessibility for all (PPAT) – Porto’s Accessible Itinerary System, designed by the city in 2017, a series of interventions have been carried out, including lowering and improving pedestrian crossings, placing tactile floors, and widening of the sidewalks.