Accessibility Template

Co Chairs

Jackie Phipps Montes
Jackie Phipps Montes (CO)
Mark Yacucci
Mark Yacucci (IL)

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility means creating content, and in GIS specifically, ensuring that maps, data, and applications are usable by everyone, including people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities.

Why Accessibility Matters

Have you ever been to a loud concert where you couldn’t hear the person next to you, or outside when the sun is too bright to see your phone? These are examples of situational disabilities. Some people have temporary disabilities, like a broken bone, or permanent disability, like being deaf.

This makes accessibility a significant consideration. In 2022, more than 1 in 4 users reported having a disability, which means you could be unintentionally barring users from your content if you are missing accessibility features, like subtitles, for example.

Most people will experience a disability at one point in their lives, so making GIS accessible will make sure no one has issues creating or using GIS.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are often considered the standards for making accessible content. The Americans with Disabilities Act Title 2 requires all state and local governments to follow WCAG version 2.1 level AA.

For more information, view the ADA fact sheet for state and local governments about accessibility for web and mobile content.

Where to Start?

Getting started is the biggest challenge! Start by creating a strategic plan.

  1. List all your content that needs to be accessible. This should include apps, maps, PDFs, layers, and more. Use this to determine what you need to keep and what may no longer be necessary. Use our content tracker template to help get you started!
  2. Define what accessibility means for your team and learn about your organization’s accessibility requirements. Use this time to research accessibility and use our resources section below.
  3. Take action. Take what you need to update based on your organization and role, and get started. A general good practice is to start with the most important and public items, then work down to internal and less important items.
  4. Line in the sand concept: ensure all your content moving forward meets the accessibility standards. It’s much easier to make your content accessible from the beginning than it is at the end.

Tools

All tools listed below are free unless otherwise noted

Resources

Are we missing any resources? Let us know and we’ll add it!

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