How the Paralympics are changing Rio

Rio de Janeiro's city government has outlined a raft of measures designed to make the beachside metropolis more accessible to people with disabilities during and beyond this year's Olympic Games.

Monday marked 100 days until the start of the Paralympics, which will unite athletes from 170 countries and regions across 23 sports. The mega-event will begin 17 days after the Olympic Games closing ceremony.

"The experience of staging a Paralympic Games - and the consequences of having a more inclusive city - is our objective," Rio de Janeiro coordination secretary Pedro Paulo told reporters. "We want a city that respects people with disabilities."

The city government is training 1,500 public servants to attend to people with disabilities during the Paralympics, which will run from September 7 to 18. The training program is targeting the transport, health, tourism and urban planning sectors.

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the public will be able to access information about transport - like the best route and the estimated time of arrival - for trips around the city. The application is available in 40 languages with tools that also attend to people with disabilities.

Work is being carried out - and in many cases already completed - to make the city's major tourist attractions accessible to people with disabilities.

Such locations include the Botanical Gardens, the Vista Chinesa lookout point, the Emperor's Table, Corcovado mountain, Sugarloaf mountain and Cinelandia square.

Work has included 6,000 meters of newly laid cemented areas, the levelling of roads and sidewalks, the installation of ramps and tactile sidewalks, new priority carpark spaces and adapted access points for public transport.

Meanwhile some 2,600 streets across 59 neighborhoods have been revamped to make them more accessible to disabled people as part of the "Marvellous Neighborhood" campaign. Investment in the program has exceeded 5.5 million US dollars, according to the government.

Like Rio's major tourist attractions, the streets have been refurbished with tactile sidewalks and ramps. Free open-air gymnasiums - already a common sight on Rio's beaches - have been built at Maracana, Flamengo and Madureira Park with facilities suitable for disabled people.

In the redeveloped port district, new roads are flanked by wide sidewalks that are bereft of steps and curbs. The redesigned neighborhood will also boast 442 ramps and 2,523 square meters of tactile paving.

New transport systems such as the VLT light rail link have also been built with the disabled in mind. The service, which will be officially opened next week, will have ramps at all stations and tactile flooring. Each vehicle will be fitted with monitors that attend to visually and hearing impaired passengers.

Taxi companies have also been ordered to adapt a greater number of vehicles to attend to those with special needs.

It's not just city's infrastructure and services that have undergone a transformation. Rio's government has also planned a slew of activities designed to encourage a more culturally inclusive society.

During the Paralympics, Rio will host a wheelchair festival celebrating art, lifestyle and sports. And the city's Parks for All program will see activities such as wheelchair basketball and goalball being played in eight public spaces across the city. Endit