Beyond consultation: on the design of ‘engagement channels’ to foster ongoing civic discussions around the deployment of smart city technologies

Keywords: platform urbanism, smart cities, contestable AI, civic participation, governance
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Arguably, the advent of urban AI, platform urbanism and smart cities has contributed to shifts in urban governance, undercutting citizens’ agency in the shaping of their cities (a.o. Barns 2019, Greenfield 2013, Kitchin et al. 2019; Rodgers & Moore 2018). To counter these developments, city governments have engaged in civic co-creation of smart city-technologies, with transparency as an important value.
However, often these attempts fall short of their goals. Transparency is mostely understood from a technical approach, rather than from the socially situated position of citizens. Participation is often limited to the end of a development cycle. This leaves little room to understand the possible impact, nor for contestation once deployed (Alfrink et al. 2023, Alfrink 2024, DiSalvo 2022, Eshan 2021, VonEschenbach 2021).
The research project Human Values for Smart Cities, in collaboration with the City of Amsterdam, has explored an alternative approach, using as a case study the introduction of a ‘scanning bicycle’ – a data-collection verhicle to monitor the city’s public spaces.
Our approach centers on the development of ‘engagement channels’ in the defining, making and deployment stages of this new mobile scanning practice. These channels are to facilitate continuous, two-way conversations between city and citizens. This should foster ongoing discussions about how a system works, and how it could be improved.
In a series of experiments, we have explored various forms of such engagement channels, while working towards the development of a framework for integrating continuous engagement channels in smart city systems.