Best way to go? Intriguing citizens to investigate what is behind smart city technologies (en)

Franziska Maria Tachtler The topic of smart cities is growing in
importance. However, a field study in the city of Malmö, Sweden
shows that there is a discrepancy between the ongoing activities of
urban planners and companies using analytical and digital tools to
interpret humans’ behavior and preferences on the one hand, and the
visibility of these developments in public spaces on the other.
Citizens are affected by the invisible data and software not only
when they use an application, but also when their living space is
transformed. Humans use their spatial knowledge when navigating a
familiar space. This knowledge is gained by exploring the
unfamiliar space and studying secondary sources, such as maps
(Golledge, 1999). Both the secondary sources and the way of
exploring unfamiliar spaces might change because of digitalization.
Currently, there are already different kinds of navigational
applications that for instance calculate the greenest, the most
walkable, and the brightest path. Furthermore, my field study and
literature review show that urban designers, researchers, and
companies investigate digital data collection methods to interpret
the crowd flow in cities. The outcomes of sensors interpreting
human behavior might influence systems that then again affect the
smart city citizens’ way of navigation. Consequently, navigation is
one example of human behaviors that can be affected by smart city
technologies. On the example of an algorithm calculating the most
beautiful walking path, this talks shows, how easily assumptions
can be written down into code and consequently, a subjecitve
opinion is accepted to be a fact. Citizens are affected by the
invisible assumption not only when they use an application, but
also when their living space is transformed. To make processes
understandable and accessible and thus transparent for citizens,
information needs to be displayed where the data are relevant
(Vande Moere & Hill, 2012). The talk discusses ways to
intrigue citizens to investigate what is behind smart city
technologies with the help of public visualizations and thereby to
reach the common citizens in their everyday lives and to include
them in the on-going discussion about the future city.  
Sources: Golledge, R. G. (1999). Wayfinding behavior:
Cognitive mapping and other spatial processes. JHU press. Vande
Moere, A. V., & Hill, D. (2012). Designing for the Situated and
Public Visualization of Urban Data. Journal of Urban Technology,
19(2), 25–46.