Last year the city of Amsterdam released its “Digital City Agenda” showcasing 22 initiatives that aim to protect the digital rights of our fellow citizens. This year, Amsterdam will be one of the first municipalities to ever host a new online public register of sensors to inform its residents and visitors what kind of data is being collected from public space - and most importantly where these sensors are located. In the next 6 months, the municipality will be informing the business community about this new obligation and how it will be enforced.
Between the “Digital City Agenda” and the “Sensor Register” we begin to witness a blurry intersection between privacy protections of the online and offline world we inhabit. As a smart city activist, I was intrigued how these municipal ambitions could be manifested into the design profession. And if so, how architects or urban planners could be involved in this debate.
As Arcam’s Architect in Residence I look forward to the opportunity to ask my fellow architects and urban planners these kinds of thorny questions.
If you are interested in this topic join me and and Indira van 't Klooster on our upcoming talk on privacy and personal data with four national political parties Bij1 , GroenLinks, D66 and Volt who are participating in upcoming Amsterdam municipal elections. See the program and register for “Election Discussion on Privacy in the Public Space” event Saturday, 12 March 2022. Here: https://arcam.nl/events/verkiezingsgesprek-privacy-in-de-publieke-ruimte/
