The Neuro-Inclusive City Scorecard is a structured framework designed to help cities evaluate how inclusive they truly are for neurodivergent people across entire systems, not just through isolated policies or symbolic initiatives. Inclusion is often treated as a checklist item, compliance requirement, or niche social issue, but this framework reframes it as a broader question of system design, public infrastructure, and civic responsibility.
Rather than relying on simple pass/fail measures, the scorecard uses a multi-domain assessment approach that examines areas such as education, public spaces, governance, communication, accessibility, participation, and community life. It combines qualitative and quantitative inputs to identify patterns, strengths, blind spots, and systemic barriers across departments and institutions. The framework is designed with developmental logic in mind, helping cities understand not only where they currently stand, but also where improvement efforts should be focused next.
Used collaboratively with stakeholders, the scorecard can help establish a baseline for city-wide neuroinclusion, identify gaps between policy and lived experience, prioritize interventions, and track progress over time. More importantly, it shifts inclusion away from charity-based thinking and toward structural accountability by asking a more fundamental question: who is this city actually built for?
