A New Legal Infrastructure for Smart Cities: Lessons from Phoenix, Boston and Pittsburgh.
Lead Research Organisation:
Birmingham City University
Abstract
Context
The term 'smart city' refers to the integration of technology within urban spaces to collect data to address economic, social, and environmental challenges (Vito Albino et al., 2015). US smart city initiatives have presented legal problems including: infringement of privacy rights (U.S. v. Jones (2012)), stifling the voice of residents (Frug and Barron, 2008), and limiting citizen participation in decisionmaking (Lefebvre, 1968). Cities innovative responses include: Boston's "Smart Street" program to collect data through an agreement with Verizon; Phoenix's 'smart region' ("the Connective"), connecting 22 cities and towns; and Pittsburgh's Open Data Legislation (2014), with a process for identifying and approving datasets for publication. Using these cities as examples due to their unique responses, this project will investigate the extent that smart cities development is limited by the legal infrastructures
within which they operate. It will be the first systematic legal analysis in a smart city context, with findings relevant to initiatives across the US, and comparable efforts in the UK.
Research Questions
- In the context of smart cities, what legal hurdles have the 'smart city' initiatives of Phoenix, Boston, and Pittsburgh faced?
- What legal strategies have these cities adopted to respond to these challenges?
- How can this analysis inform future smart city initiatives in the US and beyond?
Methodology
This is a piece of doctrinal research that positions itself politically by reference to Lefebvre's work on the right to the city (above) and jurisprudentially, by reference to A) the mosaic theory of privacy (SCOTUS) which posits that privacy harms may arise when multiple pieces of public information, which by themselves are not invasive, combine to reveal private information (Woo, 2021) and B) generally by reference to the constraints of comparative legal research (Hirschl, 2014).
Method(s):
- Collection of data using Westlaw and other legal databases to identify the relevant constitutional and state caselaw, legislation, legislative frameworks and legal challenges.
- Creation of typology of common legal problems and related strategies of response in Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Boston.
- Analysis of the development of jurisprudence in the identified states and consideration of the extent to which state jurisprudence has influenced the development of US Constitution Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.
- Analysis and consideration of the extent to which findings have potential application beyond their immediate context.
Potential impact(s) of the project:
Globally spending will double to $189 billion in 2023 (Congressional Research Service, 2019). These initiatives present legal challenges with consequences for individual rights which must be tackled in a legally sound way. The experience of US cities will be of relevance to all 'smart city' initiatives, including the West Midlands Smart City Region Programme. There is currently a dearth of knowledge about the law and 'smart cities' (Decker, 2014), with current
research focusing on selected issues, namely the environment and sustainability (Giuffrida, 2021); inequality, data and privacy implications (Lawlor, 2019); and general perspectives (Woo, 2017). This project's first systematic legal analysis of legal structures, issues and developments relating to 'smart cities' will contribute to and extend this scholarship.
The term 'smart city' refers to the integration of technology within urban spaces to collect data to address economic, social, and environmental challenges (Vito Albino et al., 2015). US smart city initiatives have presented legal problems including: infringement of privacy rights (U.S. v. Jones (2012)), stifling the voice of residents (Frug and Barron, 2008), and limiting citizen participation in decisionmaking (Lefebvre, 1968). Cities innovative responses include: Boston's "Smart Street" program to collect data through an agreement with Verizon; Phoenix's 'smart region' ("the Connective"), connecting 22 cities and towns; and Pittsburgh's Open Data Legislation (2014), with a process for identifying and approving datasets for publication. Using these cities as examples due to their unique responses, this project will investigate the extent that smart cities development is limited by the legal infrastructures
within which they operate. It will be the first systematic legal analysis in a smart city context, with findings relevant to initiatives across the US, and comparable efforts in the UK.
Research Questions
- In the context of smart cities, what legal hurdles have the 'smart city' initiatives of Phoenix, Boston, and Pittsburgh faced?
- What legal strategies have these cities adopted to respond to these challenges?
- How can this analysis inform future smart city initiatives in the US and beyond?
Methodology
This is a piece of doctrinal research that positions itself politically by reference to Lefebvre's work on the right to the city (above) and jurisprudentially, by reference to A) the mosaic theory of privacy (SCOTUS) which posits that privacy harms may arise when multiple pieces of public information, which by themselves are not invasive, combine to reveal private information (Woo, 2021) and B) generally by reference to the constraints of comparative legal research (Hirschl, 2014).
Method(s):
- Collection of data using Westlaw and other legal databases to identify the relevant constitutional and state caselaw, legislation, legislative frameworks and legal challenges.
- Creation of typology of common legal problems and related strategies of response in Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Boston.
- Analysis of the development of jurisprudence in the identified states and consideration of the extent to which state jurisprudence has influenced the development of US Constitution Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.
- Analysis and consideration of the extent to which findings have potential application beyond their immediate context.
Potential impact(s) of the project:
Globally spending will double to $189 billion in 2023 (Congressional Research Service, 2019). These initiatives present legal challenges with consequences for individual rights which must be tackled in a legally sound way. The experience of US cities will be of relevance to all 'smart city' initiatives, including the West Midlands Smart City Region Programme. There is currently a dearth of knowledge about the law and 'smart cities' (Decker, 2014), with current
research focusing on selected issues, namely the environment and sustainability (Giuffrida, 2021); inequality, data and privacy implications (Lawlor, 2019); and general perspectives (Woo, 2017). This project's first systematic legal analysis of legal structures, issues and developments relating to 'smart cities' will contribute to and extend this scholarship.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Carson Lloyd (Student) |