Access City Awards 2016 - Introduction

The Access City Award was launched in 2010 to raise awareness of disability and promote accessibility initiatives in European cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Since then, 259 cities have entered the competition and 31 municipalities have received awards for their efforts to offer equal access to city life for the elderly and people with disabilities. Five cities this year will be recognised for having risen to the challenge of making accessibility a priority. These cities have made it possible for disabled and older people to fully participate in their communities and their ambitious initiatives and resolute progress towards creating accessible cities should inspire the thousands of other cities across Europe to make similar efforts.