Accessibility

The physical POPL conference will be held at the Westin Hotel located in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, as well as online.

Requesting Accommodations

When you register for the conference, there will be space to request accommodations. Please describe your accessibility needs, and an organizer will reach out to you to discuss specifics and confirm. Examples of accommodations might include, but are not limited to:

I will be attending the conference with an assistant/caregiver/interpreter, and would like to request a “meal-only” registration option for them so they can attend the conference with me.
I will need access to a private/quiet room during the day for breastfeeding/pumping, rest, etc
I will require wheelchair access as an attendee/presenter.

If you have specific dietary requirements, there is another space on the registration form to indicate those requirements. Alternatively, feel free to contact us to discuss accommodation options before registering by emailing the accessibility chair Jennifer Paykin (jpaykin@gmail.com). Please communicate your requests by December 31, 2021 (the early registration deadline) to ensure we have enough time to implement them.

Dietary requirements

When registering, there will be space to indicate dietary requirements.

Captioning

We are proud to announce that live captions will be available for the main POPL conference as well as PLMW! The captions will be produced by Archive 20/20 Captioning thanks to the generous support of our accessibility sponsor Jane Street!

Live captions will be available in one of two ways.

For in-person attendees, a link will be available to an online portal displaying captions in real-time which can be pulled up on a phone or laptop. This link can also be used for attendees watching the live talks over airmeet.
- PLMW: https://2020archive.1capapp.com/event/plmw/
- POPL joint events: keynotes, etc: https://2020archive.1capapp.com/event/salon1
- POPL Track A/Salon I: https://2020archive.1capapp.com/event/salon1
- POPL Track B/Salon III: https://2020archive.1capapp.com/event/salon3
For attendees watching the talks via the youtube livestream, the captions will be integrated directly into youtube’s closed captioning system.

After the live talks, the captions will be integrated with the recordings and uploaded to youtube.

COVID policies

Masks and proof of vaccination against COVID will be required to attend. See the home page for more details.

As an author, how can I make my paper accessible to everyone?

If you have written your paper with the ACM latex style file, there are a few things you can do to make your final pdf accessible to readers with vision impairments and other disabilities.

Ensure your article is readable when printed in greyscale.
Add figures as png or svg format, not pdf. Include latex-generated tables and equations rather than including those as image files.
Add tags and text descriptions to figures using Adobe Acrobat Pro, following this guide by SIGPLAN

If you are writing a paper in Word, follow this guide.

As a presenter, how can I make my presentation accessible to everyone?

To make your presentation more accessible to both people with disabilities as well as people whose first language is not English, review this short guide for guidelines on making accessible presentations.

Transportation to and from the venue

Philadelphia is widely accessible by car, train, and plane.

If flying into the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), the SEPTA regional rail airport line will take you to Suburban Station, which is a 5 minute walk or 3 minute drive from the conference venue.

Cost: $6.75 for a QuickTrip at a kiosk or $8 cash on the train
Duration: 30 minutes
Runs 7 days a week, between 5am and midnight
Both the airport station and suburban station are wheelchair accessible, and the train can accommodate wheelchairs of up to 30″ width and 48″ length. See SEPTA’s website on accessibility for details

Taxis are available from the airport, and charge a flat-rate cost of $28.50 for a one-way trip for one person between the airport and center city, where the conference venue is located. Wheelchair accessible vehicles are available. All Philadelphia taxicabs have passenger information monitors (PIM) in the backseat that provide cab and driver information and fare amounts. Passengers can tap on the PIM three times to enter accessibility mode, which includes audio of the cab information, as well as color enhancement.

Rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft are also available, and may cost between $30-$45 each way.

Public transportation

The hotel venue is centrally located with access to several public transportation lines including

the Market-Frankfort (blue) line at 15th Street Station;
the Broad Street (orange) line at 15th Street Station;
regional rail trains at Suburban Station; and
trolley (green) lines at 19th st and 15th Street Station
a variety of local busses

15th Street Station and Suburban Station are wheelchair accessible stations, but 19th Street is not. Busses are wheelchair accessible, as are the blue, orange, and regional rail lines, though not all of the stops on those lines may be—see SEPTA’s website for more details.

Google maps does a pretty good job of mapping trips using public transportation.

All riders on public transit are required to wear face masks, and capacity on busses may be limited to ensure social distancing. See this site for more information.

Childcare

POPL does not provide childcare, but SIGPLAN PAC can offer financial aid to cover childcare costs.

Hospitals

In case of emergency, call 911 for an ambulance.

Several hospitals and medical facilities are located within 5-15 minutes of driving from the venue, including but not limited to:

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- 111 South 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (5-10 min drive from the conference venue)
- 215‑955‑6000
- https://hospitals.jefferson.edu/find-a-location/locations/thomas-jefferson-university-hospital.html
For on-demand but non life-threatening care: Jefferson Urgent Care *8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday - Friday
- 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- 267-443-2020
- 2021 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (7 minute walk or drive from the conference venue)
- https://hospitals.jefferson.edu/find-a-location/locations/2021-chestnut-street.html

For non-resident attendees, buying travel insurance that covers medical expenses is strongly recommended as costs for emergency treatment can be extremely high.