1.Right to privacy of individuals and businesses
I see privacy as the first big hurdle for Smart Cities.
Is the data de-identified? in other words, can the data be traced back to a specific individual or business? In many cases the business might want the publicity, however it would depend on the data. Data showing that a particular business had few clients and was failing, or data in some way identifying it's client base, might allow other businesses a competitive advantage, and ultimately be damaging to the business.
So in the creation of big data and dynamic data sets, we have to consider what the data is showing, and whether it is appropriate to make that data available to the whole world. So is the data something that should be redacted (de-identified) before being released in raw form, or presented in publicly accessible dashboards?
Government's are restricted in disclosing data about particular individuals under the privacy Act. Big business has similar constraints under the Commonwealth Privacy Principals. However, Government is acting in the interests of the community and has no profit driven motive, and so providing the release of the data doesn't breach the governments legislative responsibilities, or moral responsibilities (that it could be used to harm someone, the government should have no barrier (other than cost) to compile and release the information it holds.
Solution: i think it could be addressed through community participation and buy in. Allow people to "opt in" to the platform.
Encourage participation by giving people access to the data and its benefits. An already well established example in a commercial context is 'Flybuys", where members obtain points for spending money in a range of affiliated stores which can be redeemed for merchandise or cash discounts. The merchants benefit by determining peoples buying patterns, which products sell well in combination or based on placement, and allow offers to be tailored specific to the member.
The same principle applied to a broader 'smart city' example could be an app that allowed someone to find a specific shop, government service, bus station, public toilet, taxi rank by type, name, or location on a GPS app, perhaps providing a choice of top down or 3d street view interactivity that allows people to receive discounts or vouchers related to that shop, or receive offers from nearby merchants or those on the path of travel. This could be similar to what is proposed in Dublin, however the data could be used to show peoples purchasing patterns, how far they are willing to walk, whether they stop for a rest or a refreshment and where, The time, date, and how long each shopper spends in the CBD on average. People could interact and contribute with the data by rating their shopping experience, sharing thoughts or photos with their friends (or the public) via the App embedded into the geographic location via GPS coordinates. Where businesses op in to the app, they may allow people to see inside the shop (shop view), click through to their websites, order things online, and identify products and brands available. An app like this could be the interface between a smart city and its smart economy.
This information could assist planners to ensure that commercial centres have sufficient transportation facilities, street lighting, public furniture, pedestrian crossings and more. It would also be great for tourists and shoppers. However, there would be big demand for access to the data by commercial entities, to allow economic planning such as marketing, business placement by type, identify successful business clustering patterns, customer volume by time, and customer demand. Even if de-identified, this is very sensitive information that could offer tremendous business advantage to those businesses opting in.
So who gets access to the raw data collected by the app?
2. Ownership of the data
So who owns the data collected by the app? The data that may not be displayed by the app, but could be captured by background analytical systems. Will the owners of the data wish to release the raw data captured by the app.
But who will find the data useful, and what will they use it for. Will it be used for the public good, or for a competitive advantage? if it is used for a competitive advantage, is that a bad thing if everyone has access to the same information? Maybe it would be a bad thing for the local economy if it was used by firms from other cities that do not have a physical presence in the city (providing tax, employment etc), but may wish to compete against local firms.
Will the data be used by the local government itself, to better identify service improvements and efficiencies?
Will it be used by universities or other research institutions, who are likely partnered with both government and business to produce outcomes that will benefit the city, or perhaps by businesses seeking to better leverage themselves to compete and cooperate with other businesses in the context of the city's smart economy.
Solution: such a system would probably be best run as a public private partnership between government, relevant local universities and research institutions, and local business councils for the benefit of all stakeholders. Universities and research institutions need to be involved because they are best placed to ensure the continued innovation and invigoration of the systems, and to study any benefits and problems that eventuate.
With such broad ownership of the data by those best placed to use it, its release to other entities becomes less important, if the partnership of owners represent a broad cross-section of the cities governance and 'smart people' with different, although often complimentary, goals and objectives. The end result will be a city that is more internally cohesive, and better placed to compete with other cities.
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