The Impact of Smart City Initiatives on Human Rights : A Qualitative Research Study

Abstract

Context:A smart city is a concept where municipalities use ICTto increase efficiency, sustainability and quality of life forits citizensand city operations. Smart city initiatives useIoT technologies, enabled by ICTs to gather large volumesof unstructured data,known as BigData.The aim of any smart city initiativeisto increase thequality of lifein acity, but posesa threat tocitizens privacy, security andfreedom of expressiondue to the large volumes of databeing collected in smart cities,potentially violatingfundamental rightsin theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.Purpose:This thesis investigatesthe connection between smart city initiatives and human rights. To be able to understand this connection, thisstudyis based upon the following research question; “How can smart city initiatives affecthuman rights?”.Methods:Themethodsthat were used in this research were aqualitative research methodand a literature review. Theliterature review is from different disciplines such asSmart Cities, Internet of Things, Big Data, The Digital DivideandHuman Rights.This was necessary in order to understand the literature which exists in the research field of smart citiesand to determine a definition of the smart city concept.The qualitative approach was gathered from interviewsconducted in the NorwegianmunicipalityKristiansand from informants withcentral roles in smart city initiatives andcitizens living in the municipality. The data that was gathered were validated by utilizing triangulation methods, mainly focusing on data triangulation. A total of 14 interviews were conducted, 4 municipalinformants and 10 citizens. Theinterviewslasted from 20 to72 minutes, gettingin depth opinionsonthe how informants believe smart city initiatives may affect human rights.Findings:Our resultsshowmultiplesmart cityinitiatives in Kristiansand municipality which givesan overview of what a typical initiative is. The informantselaborated their understanding of what a smart city initiative is and how theseinitiatives can affect human rights.There isa common understanding on how smart cityinitiatives can affectthe right to privacy, security and freedom of expression.The right to privacy is challengedbythe increased use of GPS tracking, sensors and surveillance. The right to securityisstrengthenedas GPS tracking and surveillance can warn against threats and catch criminals before they are able to act. But the right to security is also challengedas it will beeasier to find individualsusing GPS tracking and do them harm.Literature scarcelymentions how freedom of expression isaffected in a smart city, but our resultselaborateonmultipleinstanceswhere this is the case.Freedom of expressionis shown to increase citizens engagement and participation in municipal politics andonline debatesas online platformsiseasier to access for many.Butthe right to freedom of expressionis challengedas the increase of surveillance makes citizens notwilling to express themselves publicly and for individuals who don’t have the technologicalskills needed to utilize online debates. IIIThree new human rights that literature don’t mentionwere found as well. These are the right toadequatestandardliving, equal access to public servicesand to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.The right to adequate standard living is strengthenedas smart citiesaim to improve the quality of life ina city and initiateinitiativestomake platforms more accessible, manual processes automaticand to reduce carbon emission.The right toequal access to public services are challengedasvulnerableindividuals such as the elderly andimmigrants may nothave the technological skills needed to utilize online services.This could potentially result in a digital divide. The right tobe innocent until proven guilty is challengedasthe increase of surveillance on all citizens to findafew criminalsmakes everyone a suspect until proven otherwise. This contradictsbeing innocent untilproven guilty. Conclusionand implication:Our study concludesthat smart city initiatives do affecthuman rights either it being by strengtheningits significance or by breaching thetermsoftheUDHR. This study contributes toa better understanding on how human rights are affected by smart city initiatives and whichhuman rights should be taken into consideration when planning a smart city initiative. Implications forfutureresearch and implications for practice aresuggested. Key words:smart city; internet of things; big data; digital divide; human rights; privacy; security; freedom of expression