#smartcitydata

On my previous blog post, I reflected on the concept of smart cities and how it is automatically connected to big data. The smart solutions of today’s cities mean data driven solutions. I have also discussed the need to take a broader look when addressing smart cities challenges. I thought it would be interesting to find out how people around me perceive the concept of smart cities.

I decided to spend some time informally asking my friends and colleagues about their own views on smart cities. During these conversations, I have noticed that the focus of these discussions always moved rapidly from ‘what are smart cities?’ to ‘How do I feel about smart cities?’

Fear and lack of trust were feelings shared by many of the people I spoke to. I started to wonder how we can consider cities to be smart if their own citizens do not trust or are afraid of them.

When it comes to smart cities, there is a big blur between big tech companies and governance initiatives and  citizens. We often  know that data is being collected but don't really know how, when and how secure this data collection is. We also hear about the importance of data capture to make our lives better. However, these solutions are not always visible or accessible to citizens. How can we trust something that is not transparent? How can we break this wall between us, and smart technology approaches ?

A quick walk in the city and it is easy to spot technological solutions. These pictures below are a great examples that illustrate how disconnected we are with what it is around us. During a walk around Clerkenwell in London, my colleagues and I have come across things that we either never noticed before or didn't know what they were.Technological solutions are not always obvious to us, and knowing what they are and what they do is just as important as how innovative and efficient they are. 

What are they? Who are they for? Who put them there? Who can help me to use them?

I started wondering if cities can actually be considered smart, without being inclusive of its own citizens. I believe that when it comes smart cities approaches, citizens often feel that they are not part of it. It is almost as if it is happening in the background of ours lives, and we are just consumers and data providers. How can we feel less of a spectator and and have more of an active role? How can we feel empowered? How can we be empowered?

Looking for inspiration, I came across to a few examples of projects being adopted by different cities. Some of these projects have put citizens at the centre of innovative solutions through participatory and collaborative initiatives. The idea of these projects is to achieve solutions for urban problems by enabling citizens to become co- creators of these solutions.

What is interesting about all these initiatives, is that technology is enabling citizens to have a more of an active role. However, I wonder if these initiatives can promote a true engagement and if they are in fact, inclusive of all segments of society.

I came across recently to the term ‘Digital Democracy’. It refers to the role of technology in the democratic process and how democratic methods can be reconsidered through digital technology. Citizens have access to all sorts of information online and using tools such as Twitter and Facebook, they can share their opinions and thoughts. However, how much of that digital participation actually impacts government policies and decision making. I believe that digital democracy is about the use of digital tools to enable citizens to participate democratically in the decision making process of what will directly impact them. Digital tools can be used to allow citizens not only to vote for politicians, but also for them to have a say in government decisions.

The more I think about  digital democracy, the more I think about the importance of  considering existing cities when thinking about smart cities. How can we  consider digital democracy while a large percentage of the population has not got access to the digital world? Is that democratic at all? What about parts of the world where citizens are still considered digital illiterate? When thinking about smart cities we need to consider how the digital divide can be bridged.

Empowerment of citizens can only truly be achieved through a series of initiatives, such as digital education, data clarity, realistic smart approaches and digital democracy.

It's impossible to think about citizen’s empowerment without addressing data privacy. With the many scandals of big companies and data being hacked, it is expected  that citizens have worries about innovative technologies. Almost everything we do today can be tracked. Our spendings, journeys and phone calls. Citizens do not have clarity of what's happening with their own data. Policies and regulations such as GDPR in Europe, have been enforcing companies to keep data only if they have a reason, and citizens also have the right to request the details of the data that companies hold. However, there is still not enough clarity on which companies hold data, what data they hold, how they are using and how long for. With the internet of things, the problem becomes even more complicated as smart devices send information to the internet and also connect to other devices. It is essential the continuous use and development of security technology, policies and regulations to protect the data privacy.

Empowerment of citizens can only truly be achieved through a series of initiatives such as digital education, data clarity, realistic smart approaches, digital democracy and data privacy regulations.

At this moment, in the project I believe people empowerment became an important value that we all wanted to explore.

 Notes:

Info mentioned on this blog post can be found on the following links 

https://mobility.here.com/barcelona-smart-city-people-people

https://towardsdatascience.com/8-years-on-amsterdam-is-still-leading-the-way-as-a-smart-city-79bd91c7ac13