Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama Birmingham, recently presented "Human Rights and the City: Including Disability Rights in Urban Development." She discussed how to transform cities into spaces that reflect fundamental human rights principles and prioritize inclusion and equity, especially for marginalized communities such as people with disabilities. Looking at both the built environment and the current trends towards technologization of cities, she showed how a human rights framework can change the urban discourse and how community-based participatory approaches can influence both research on urban development and smart cities as well as policy processes and empowerment of underserved communities
