Investigating Smart City Projects and Privacy Concerns in Newcastle

Objectives

Cities produce and consume an unprecedented amount of data from a variety of novel sources (Arribas-Bel, 2014; Batty, 2013). Exploiting data to become a smart city (SC) is seen as a way of tackling the economic and environmental sustainability challenges facing urban areas (Meijer, 2016). The SC literature, however, indicates a lack of agreement regarding what constitutes a smart city (Gil -García, 2015). Shelton (2015) argues studying SC implementation in particular places is more productive than analysing universal models or unrepresentative ideals as the majority of SCs are not built from scratch but assembled piecemeal, integrating novel technologies and policies with existing governance structures and physical environments. Three current information technology developments commonly associated with SCs, the Internet of Things, big data and the cloud, also form three of the greatest privacy challenges (Edwards, 2016) as they interact with the norms and expectations of citizens negotiating the public and private boundaries of urban space (Silva, 2012). Failure to acknowledge privacy concerns risks the acceptance, support and participation of citizens necessary to realising SC's potential benefits (van Zoonen, 2016). Investigating how stakeholders involved in Newcastle’s SC initiatives interpret the concept in this particular place grounds the research in time and space and offers the opportunity to explore how the utopian image of a fully integrated, frictionless SC and a messier reality relate.

This project will investigate how smart city projects and concerns regarding their potential impacts on citizens’ privacy are understood by key stakeholders in Newcastle.

−Perform a systematic review of SC and privacy literature

−Identify SC projects undertaken in Newcastle

−Recruit local experts from academia, business and government

−Construct a common understanding of SC in the context of Newcastle

−Understand which technologies/projects participants believe are most representative of Newcastle as a SC

−Explore potential privacy concerns arising from these technologies/projects

•In this context the literature review should be expected to contain a minimum of 15 items.

•should be a review of the traditional literature, and where relevant, electronic sources, identifying their relationship to your proposal.

•The approach should be constructively critical, and would be expected to explore all appropriate avenues which might illuminate the proposed area of investigation.

•This should identify and justify the approach you have chosen,

•the method/s you are proposing to use

•the data collection techniques you will apply.

•Ethical considerations

•Research design (you can include a timetable as an appendix and refer to it here.)

•Resources available to sustain the Project, intended scope is realistic and manageable. (approx 700 words)

Kezar (2016) describes the key features of Delphi studies as:

(i)Anonymous participants, encouraging free expression of opinions.

(ii)Controlled feedback from the researcher, informing participants of emerging group views.

(iii)Iteration, allowing participants to re-consider, re-evaluate, clarify or change their views.

(iv)Aggregation of responses for analysis and interpretation.

Anonymity allows for honesty and openness, and is suited to this project as responses are potentially politically sensitive. Consensus is traditionally an explicit aim. It is not always possible but reached through sharing and considering alternative views and arguments. At least two rounds of questions are used as reconsideration in light of others' views is fundamental to the process and iteration allows everyone the opportunity to contribute fully. Consensus is the aim but elements of divergence are likely and must be reported.

This is done to highlight the benefits of the research [not a prediction of findings!], for example, will the research result in guidelines?