Makassar now has its first Disability-Inclusive City Profile, providing a new evidence base to support inclusive urban planning for persons with disabilities. Developed by Kota Kita with the support from UNESCO, the profile was built through data collection carried out between April and November 2025, involving persons with disabilities. It offers detailed insights into accessibility, services, and their lived experiences across the city.
In December 2025, the findings were formally presented to the Mayor of Makassar City and Makassar City Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda). It marked an important step toward integrating disability inclusion into local development planning.
In many cities, efforts to advance disability inclusion are constrained by limited and fragmented data, often shaped by self-reporting mechanisms and persistent social barriers that leave many persons with disabilities uncounted. Cultural barriers, such as negative stigma around disability and accessibility issues in many cities still exist. As a result, many people are reluctant to register their status and, consequently, this leaves them excluded from official citizen documentation.Â
In Makassar, this has made it difficult to translate commitments to inclusion into concrete planning decisions. The Disability-Inclusive City Profile responds to this gap by providing locally grounded, participatory data that can help the city better understand accessibility challenges and plan more inclusive public services and infrastructure.
This profile reported disaggregated data on 5,171 persons with disabilities in Makassar city. The data provided types and causes of disability, as well as the distribution by gender and age. They were analysed in the context of Makassar’s spatial and social conditions, including its island regions. It also reviews the fulfilment of fundamental rights for persons with disabilities, such as education, employment, health, and rehabilitation. It offered a city-level picture of how disability intersects with access to services, infrastructure, and participation in urban life.
For the Makassar City Government, the profile provides a practical reference for strengthening inclusive development planning.
Munafri Arifuddin, Mayor of the Makassar city government, expressed his deep appreciation for the support provided by UNESCO and Kota Kita. He welcomed the profile as a valuable tool for shaping policy decisions, highlighting the importance of reliable data in guiding the city’s development direction.Â
This disability profile document could serve as an official guideline for the Makassar City Government in creating a city that is more friendly for persons with disabilities. It is an excellent document that should be widely reproduced and distributed as a reference
Munafri ArifuddinMayor of Makassar City
This handover of the profile is expected to serve as an initial stepping stone for designing programs and policies that better support persons with disabilities. Makassar remains committed to continuously improving accessibility, protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, and providing spaces for participation for all residents across various aspects of urban life.Â
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-kota-kita-hands-over-first-disability-inclusive-city-profile-makassar-support-inclusive
