Press Release - COST Action - People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World

COST Action: People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World Cities are the future. Cities are communities of individuals and families with different backgrounds, needs and aspirations. As such, cities need to focus on quality of life and the quality of amenities, places, governance, and neighbourhoods they have to offer. To this end, citizens need to be engaged in a dialogue about their cities. The ‘People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World’ COST Action co-ordinates a trans-disciplinary network of experts and nonexperts that investigate the alignment of the “hardware” (e.g. technology sensors, infrastructures) and “software” (e.g. governance, data driven solutions) of a city with user needs to promote well being, good health, and a sustainable use of resources, within an evolving people-centred consultation framework for economic, social and political development.

Chaired by Prof. Mark Dyer, the Action involves participants from 28 countries, and is supported by a European network of candidate cities including: Dublin, Glasgow, Lucca, and Sønderborg.

The candidate cities will act as living laboratories and provide access to data and resources for nationally funded projects.

The concept of the ‘smart city’ as an emerging new stage of urbanisation has become an important topic for policy, industry, and research. However, the definitions and purposes of ‘smart cities’ are not consistent and the dominant focus on the role of energy, transport and ICT infrastructure, often neglects the ‘social’ and liveable elements that are essential for making cities attractive, healthy, and vibrant places for people to live in.

In a data rich world, ‘smart and liveable cities’ bring communities together and encourage social inclusion. Smart and liveable cities do not simply translate into larger, faster or more functional cities. A smart and liveable city can also mean providing city residents with more social connectivity, public spaces and buildings with character; access to cultural, sport, recreational, shopping, and green space amenities; safety from crime; and, public policies that meet human needs.

The objectives of the Action include: the specification and evaluation an evolving framework for collaborative urbanism; the facilitation of a dialogue about how the software of a city can be combined with the hardware of a city to promote smart and liveable cities; the development of a knowledge platform; and, the provision of training to a community of Early Stage Researchers in interdisciplinary research and practice.

The Action has established the following four interacting trans-disciplinary Working Groups: Roadmap and Research Strategy; Knowledge Platform; Living Laboratory; and, Framework for Collaborative Urbanism. The areas of responsibilities for each of the Working Groups have been chosen to foster trans-disciplinary research and span across the following research tasks: governance; user needs; digital data; and, collaborative urbanism and KPIs. As part of the Action, a ‘City Sounding Board’ (CSB) – made up of leading city managers and professionals – will be established to facilitate close links with the candidate cities. In addition, the CSB will monitor and evaluate the implementation of the COST Action.

The COST Action commenced on November 2013 and will continue until October 2017.