Trust is the cornerstone of every relationship! This is true even when it comes to the relationship between a city government and its citizens. It is a proven fact that smart cities that share a strong bond with its people – or people who have full trust in their government – are advancing at a faster rate compared to the ones that are still trying to bridge the gap.
Here we share stories of two nations – one that has already bestowed the people with the power to have control over their personal data – and the other which is in the process of establishing a similar kind of atmosphere. These initiatives show a forward-thinking of how smart cities can make the digital environment secure by giving the reigns of data control in citizen’s hands.
Helmond’s Brandevoort area in the Netherlands is going to have ‘the smartest neighbourhood in the world’ as claimed by UNStudio. The plan known as The Brainport Smart District (BSD) is being transformed into reality by UNSense, the sister company of UNStudio.
One of the two intriguing elements of this initiative is that it will explore innovative ways for citizens to control and trade their data. And the second is that instead of having pre-determined design and plan for BSD, the planners will work on their vision to develop as per the people’s demand. In other words, the process of learning and developing will go hand in hand.
The BSD is a huge project that is estimated to be completed in the next ten years. The smart neighbourhood will have over 1500 homes and 12 hectares of the business arena built around a natural park. All this will be developed inside a ‘living lab’.
According to UNStudio, their ambition is to construct a “sustainable, circular and socially cohesive neighbourhood”. This will include food production, water management, digital data management, joint energy generation and unprecedented transport systems. The aim is to develop a unique living concept which revolves around “learning by doing”.
UNStudio envisions to explore possibilities of data-sharing that requires citizens to be compensated and rewarded for their data. They aim to develop an economic model which receive benefits and allows data control by its citizens. As a result, data becomes a tool which is controlled by their owners – the residents. In addition, it will provide a wide range of services that people can benefit from. This will include joint energy generation, retail and food (production and distribution), and mobility.
Currently, the company is working with Tilburg University to find out possibilities of data exchange. A Board of Ethics has been established by UNSense, which will work as an advisory group on privacy, regulations, data control, and any commercial benefit for the end user.
Furthermore, UNSense plans to execute a feasibility analysis of the BSD experiment. UNStudio is partnering with a number of companies from different domains to work on the plan. These include UNSense (data and technology strategy), Felixx Landscape Architects & Planner (ecology and landscape), Habidatum (data analysis), and Metabolic (Circularity and climate adaptation).
The data-sharing model of the new district comes as a promising factor when data ownership and concerns about how citizen data is used by the government and private corporations is high on agenda. Take for example the smart city at the Toronto Waterfrontlead by Sidewalk Labs. The project is being criticised for its lack of clarity around data control and its management.
With the help of blockchain technology, Estonia has become the first country to provide complete data control to its citizens.
