Bridging European Urban Transformations
Workshop Series in Brussels 2016-2017
Funded by the ESRC
1st Workshop
(Un)Plugging Data in Smart City-Regions
Co-organised in partnership by the
University of Oxford – Urban Transformations
www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk
&
VUB – Brussels Centre for Urban Studies
www.urbanstudies.brussels
Date: 14th November 2016
Duration: 9:00-16:00
Venue: SMIT (www.smit.vub.ac.be) – Boulevard de la Plaine 9, 1050 Etterbeek, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
Topic:
Attention to the application of new information flows and the development of the so-called ‘smart cities’ paradigm is increasing; however, there is still limited understanding of the interconnections between ‘hard,’ ‘smart’ infrastructures and economic, political and social systems on metropolitan and regional scales. Furthermore, this paradigm has often failed to deliver practical tools that can help us to better understand and intervene in our daily realities, while also engaging with the various stakeholders that are important for our cities and regions.
The workshop aims to rethink the dominant technocratic and technology-centric smart city discourse: not by imagining cities beyond or before technologies, but by accepting that city-regions are already fundamentally shaped by networked and mobile ICTs and by critically thinking through the governance consequences of the promises and realities of smart cities. For example, many argue that smart city-regions will inevitably revolve around generating large amounts of data and that this in itself will lead to new insights and governance strategies. But in reality, city-regions are much more complex and shaped by a large variety of different actors and organisations with often conflicting positions. Another strand of debate emphasizes the impact of near-universal uptake of smartphones and other hand-held devices as well as the impact of the Internet of Things i.e. networks of data-gathering sensors and cloud computing. Many use these devices and networks on a daily basis, but what this means for city-regional governance and the power-laden relationships between citizens, governments and companies remains an open question. All this makes truly ‘smart’ city-regional governance exceedingly difficult, but at the same time a fascinating and rewarding scale for investigating the various meanings and usages of ‘smartness’.
Over the last years, various research projects across Europe have started investigating these issues. Most seek to develop not just critical analyses, but also practical suggestions to tackle urban problems such as pollution, health, safety or mobility through the development and use of various types of mobile and networked data. Building on this emerging body of research, the workshop (Un)Plugging Data in Smart City-Regions will bring together a group of European academics and policymakers in order to unpack and question:
1. the kinds of knowledge gained through the production, distribution and use of ‘smart’ data;
2. the role data plays in the constitution of urban expertise and in mediating and transforming the relationships between citizens, governments and companies; and
3. the ways in which data-driven knowledge and expertise tackles and/or reproduces inequalities in city-regions.
More broadly, we aim to explore how new strategies of data collection, storage, and usage harness urban and regional smart governance models to guide city-regional decision-making processes.
Programme:
The one-day workshop commences with a welcoming introduction from Prof. Michael Keith, co-ordinator of the Urban Transformations ESRC portfolio, and Prof. Bas van Heur, co-ordinator of the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies as host institution. It will be followed by six slots and some speakers who are experts in the field: three from the Urban Transformations ESRC portfolio projects and seven from the VUB. The workshop will also include small debate groups led by each section. Each small group will deliver some conclusions at the end of the workshop.
The workshop wants to emphasize an interdisciplinary dialogue, bridge the gap between theory and practice, and encourage knowledge exchange between academics, policymakers, citizens, and activists.
If you are interested in participating in the workshop please register to the workshop via Evenbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unplugging-data-in-smart-city-regions-tickets-26793797971
Alternatively, please contact coordinators directly via: [log in to unmask]
Coordination:
• Dr Igor Calzada, MBA (UOxf-UT)
www.igorcalzada.com/about
http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/people/igor-calzada
@icalzada & [log in to unmask]
• Prof Bas Van Heur (VUB-BCUS)
http://www.cosmopolis.be/people/bas-van-heur
@basvanheur & [log in to unmask]
Preliminary Agenda:
9:00-9:20 Welcome: Prof Michael Keith (UT-UOxf) & Prof Bas van Heur (BCUS-VUB).
• @MichaelKeith18 & [log in to unmask]
• @basvanheur & [log in to unmask]
9:20:9:40 Introduction: Mr Richard Tuffs
• Director of ERRIN (European Regions Research and Innovation Network)
9:40-10:40 New Sources For Data Collection, Storage And Usage (Section 1/3)
• 9:40-10:10 Professor Peter Triantafillou (University of Glasgow & UBDC)
@UrbanBigData & [log in to unmask]
Urban Big Data Centre
http://ubdc.ac.uk/about/our-team/directors/peter-triantafillou/
• 10:10-10:40 Dr Paul Cowie (Newcastle University & ESRC/Future Cities Catapult)
@politicalidiot & [log in to unmask]
Future Cities Catapult
http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/people/paul-cowie/
10:40-11:10 Debate: New Sources For Data Collection, Storage And Usage
11:10-11:40 Coffee-break and Networking
11:40-12:40 Urban Expertise for Citizen/Users Involvement (Section 2/3)
• 11:40-12:10 Dr Carina Veeckman & Dr Paulien Coppens (SMIT-VUB)
@VeeckmanCarina & [log in to unmask]
@PaulienCoppens & [log in to unmask]
HackAIR (Collective Awareness for Air Quality)
http://www.hackair.eu
• 12:10-12:55 Professor Wolfgang De Meuter, Lizzy Bleumers, Jesse Zaman & Kevin Pinte (SOFT-VUB)
@wdmeuter & [log in to unmask]
Flamenco (Flanders Mobile Enacted Citizen Observatories)
http://citizen-observatory.be
12:55-13:15 Debate: Citizen/Users Involvement
13:15-14:00 Lunchtime
14:00-15:00 Smart Knowledge and Expertise to Tackle Urban Inequalities (Section 3/3)
• 14:00-14:30 Professor Pieter Ballon (SMIT-VUB)
@PieterBallon & [log in to unmask]
City of Things: Data-Driven Living Lab for Socio-Economic Experiments
• 14:30-15:00 Dr Joana Barros (Birkbeck, University of London)
@jxbarros & [log in to unmask]
RESOLUTION: Resilient Systems fOr Land Use TransportatION
http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/project/resolution-resilient-systems-for-land-use-transportation
15:00-15:30 Debate: Urban Inequalities
15:30-16:00 Wrapping-Up and Conclusions
In cooperation with:
RSA – Smart City Regional Governance for Sustainability Research Network
• http://www.regionalstudies.org/networks/network/smart-city-regional-governance-for-sustainability
• http://rsan-smartgov-events.ioer.info/index.html
Hashtag:
#UnpluggingData
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