Inclusive Smart Cities: Beyond Voluntary Corporate Data Sharing

• Main Author: Julien Mercille
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: B2G data sharing; data collaboratives; smart cities; data philanthropy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8135

Smart cities mobilise technologically driven solutions toward urban governance and service delivery. The profitable opportunities and abundance of data made available by cities attract ICT corporations that possess the resources and knowledge to make cities smart. However, this often leads corporate actors to monopolise the data collected and generated. This poses risks for privacy and the ways in which personal data are used and commercialised. Existing work on business-to-government (B2G) data sharing and data collaboratives has explored the technical and organisational issues involved in corporate data sharing with public authorities. However, many studies remain focused on <i>voluntary</i> corporate data releases. This paper argues that the option of <i>compelling</i> companies to share data should be considered more attentively; it is one channel (among many) that has the potential to make cities more inclusive.