What makes a city Neurodiversity-friendly?

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I was reading this thread: ( http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt231454.html ), and the OP indicates that Washington, DC is not a neurodiversity friendly city. Others have argued that it is.

What factors make a city/metro area neurodiversity-friendly?

I'd say if the city were as strange as the individuals themselves.

Take Portland, Oregon, for example. They made a TV show about it because it was so weird!

Seriously, though. If you're able to feel at home in such a big city anywhere, then that city is friendly and diverse enough to fit you. I think it might be up to the individual's perception of neurodiversity.

As for me, I've never been to DC. I've been to Chicago, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, and Dallas as well, however. Florida felt more like my home-away-from-home than Georgia or Illinois.

I'm not sure you can really say that a whole city is neurodiversity-friendly...because I think neurodiversity-friendliness all comes down to individual people and places -- the populations of cities are massive, diverse, and ever-changing, and places (buildings, businesses, parks, homes -- and services, which aren't really people or places) tend to change as well.

I think it's about finding the communities (community groups, service providers, businesses, individuals) within a city where difference is accepted and accomodated -- and where a person's individual needs can be met, and their particular brand of weird/different is accepted and valued. The kind of community I'm talking about might end up happening in little geographical pockets within cities, or might be spread out -- but I think it's more likely to be spread out across the whole geographical area of a city.

As animalcrackers alluded to, a city being "neuro-diversity" friendly is problematic to say the least. All cities are composed of people. And people vary widely in their tolerance for those who are different.

So, my guess is that "neuro-diversity" friendly cities are those who spend the most tax dollars on programs of alleged benefit to those of us on the spectrum.

Bottom line: More bureaucrats allegedly devoted to "neuro-diversity" equals more "neuro-diversity" friendly.

I'd say if it's diversity friendly, it's more likely to be neurodiversity friendly.

I would disagree about D.C.

(1) the largest employer is the federal government, so you can apply for jobs under Schedule A disability preference, and you're not going to get fired for stupid s**t.

(2) the subway: it's not necessary to drive a car in order to function, and many many people do not.

(3) few families/low marriage rates. You don't have to worry about ALL your neurotypical friends getting married and having kids.

(4) diversity: multiple cultures, and lots of transient residents. It's less likely that you'll be the odd one out.

(5) more compassionate people than other places: unlike NYC, wealth and business are actually not the driving motivators behind most people's career. Power often is, but you find that anywhere. D.C. has the largest concentration of idealists in the entire nation.

(6) great universities and lots of scientific and technical R&D for the geeky minded.

Flexibility. If the city has policies and a culture that allow for a wide variety in human abilities, personalities, and ways of doing things, then it's neurodiversity-friendly, and probably friendly to physically disabled people too. A good indication of that kind of thing is seeing lots of disabled people of various sorts out and about, casually going about their business, their presence seen as quite unremarkable. In less friendly places, disabled people can be pretty much housebound and thus not often seen in public, because everything is so hard to use and everybody either treats them like they're going to break if they're touched, or just avoids them.

No people.

So abandoned cities. Maybe Detroit would be good if I clear out an area for myself.

Nuerodiversity friendly means that the neurotypical view is just as valid as the autistic point of view.

There are some people who are nuerodiversity friendly, and there are some who are not. To me, all cities have about the same amount of nuerodiversity friendliness. I think it depends on how the individual people are. Cities where people live do not make people any more or less nuerodiversity friendly.