After the founders Dr. Chong-Wey Lin and Momo Huang experienced family members and seeing others being excluded from events and social participation in general, the idea of OurCityLove was born. Faced with a population consisting of a growing elderly community, a steady level of new parents and a substantial number of people with disabilities, the challenge is for the society to adapt.
We want to create awareness of, understanding and empathy towards the various forms of mobility impairment both temporary and permanent. By doing so the public and private sectors is encouraged to improve the environment and their services and then we can work towards establishing a set of norms and standards for a friendly city and world.
We were ready and still are, to take on that challenge and use our passion to create solutions which will achieve an equal rights community for all.
Goal
OurCityLove Social Enterprise strives to use their sustainable business to make an impact on both their local and international environment, and to help increase mobility awareness in the world.
Additionally the goal is also to create dignified jobs for people who don’t necessarily fit the standard job description. At OurCityLove we do not see disability, we see different abilities.
About us
VIDEO
Using cloud computing and mobile technology, people with disabilities and social entrepreneurs at OurCityLove developed a survey app to collect restaurant information by assessing accessibility and friendly service, and share the information for free with the public through the Friendly Restaurant Taipei App. We are the only app in the world that provides food, service and accessibility information on a single platform – allowing users with mobility-impairment to locate accessible restaurants in ten seconds.
The Friendly Survey App is the world’s first survey application (“app”) specifically designed for persons with disabilities to survey restaurant environment and service.The app incorporates text, photo uploading, and recording functions to enrich the survey content. We designed the app specifically for facilitating job creation for disabled people, because we believe that the real life specialist should be co-creators of the solutions which identify and targets their needs.
After gaining momentum and support from the public, we started to provide the Friendly Restaurant Certificate in cooperation with Taipei City Government. Although growing with government support initially, our revenue sources are now diversifying, restaurants pay a fee to remain in our app for marketing purposes, take our certificate course, or to use our consulting service which helps them identify improvement needs and train their staff.
Mission
To create a reliable information platform, which creates an inclusive, convenient and friendly environment for people to live in now and in the future.
Vision
Creating a hub of accessibility information around the world. We plan to expand our services from restaurants to include hotels and eventually tourism, starting in Southeast Asia and expanding to Europe and the US.
Products & Services
We offer a wide variety of Apps and services such as ：
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Friendly Restaurant
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Friendly Drivers
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Friendly MRT Taipei
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Friendly Pediatricians
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Friendly Lactation rooms
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Friendly Certification
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Friendliness training
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Friendly consulting
Presence
Currently OurCityLove covers 9 cities locally in Taiwan and internationally in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Future expansions include the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
Friendly People Friendly Cities
Because there are friendly people, there are friendly cities.
Taking on the challenge
Idea behind OurCityLove Social Enterprise
A Friendly World in Your Hand
A person in a permanent or temporary disabling situation, often face accessibility barriers when going out, and that can have a big impact on the quality of life! Reducing or removing accessibility barriers is important to ensure people have the same rights and opportunities.
For people with disabilities, parents with strollers, senior citizens and their families and friends, it has always been a headache when it comes to finding a friendly restaurant in the city. Our app offers ranking information of some 1000+ friendly restaurants in Taipei, including detailed description and clear on-site photos of the restaurants’ entrance, environment, tables, chairs, toilets, parking spaces, braille and assisting services.
The Design Idea of Friendly Restaurant App
The friendly information is collected and evaluated by our 100+ Love Correspondents, who are volunteers with various physical disabilities, such as spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, polio, and those with visual or hearing problems. In cooperation with the Taiwan Handicap Alliance, we recruited and trained these real-life experts in friendly environment and services. Then they use our cloud platform and smart mobile tool to investigate restaurants and to publish their firsthand dining experience in the app.
The Vision of Friendly Restaurant App
