Inclusion and Civic Engagement in Public Technology Building and Planning

Whether they are Wi-Fi kiosks, urban sensors, fiber networks, or built-from-scratch “smart” neighborhoods, new urban technology deployments are under the microscope. Despite the potential of these projects to drive innovation and economic growth, they are often met with mixed reception and a myriad of justifiable questions. Take the Quayside project in Toronto led by Sidewalk Labs. Concerned residents teamed together to create a shared list of questions about incentives, privacy, diversity, and data ownership: “Who will own/control/have access to the data that is captured by the sensors deployed in this project? How should the issues of “consent” and “contract” be approached in the smart city? How do we define the community that needs to be consulted and engaged on this project?” This grassroots-generated skepticism points to a real need for better-designed processes around local, smart city deployments — processes that safeguard resident opinions, resident consent, and procedural justice as urban innovation is pursued.

[Denise Linn Riedl is the Manager of Ecosystem Development for the City Tech Collaborative in Chicago and a Benton Fellow]