Platform Cities: The politics & practices of data-driven urbanism

Dr. Sarah Barns, Urban Studies Postdoctoral Fellow University of Western Sydney

Urban Studies Foundation Forum University of Glasgow 30 April 2015

April 2014  

Imagining the Computer of the 21st century’ Mark Weiser

and colleagues terox PARC 1980s.

‘Life on Demand’ Media habits in daily life

‘Life on Demand’ Media habits in daily life

Networkd City Image by SENSEable City Lab

‘Platform Urbanism’

Networkd City Image by SENSEable City Lab

‘Platform Urbanism’

The study and design of urban practices that respond to new configurations between the physical and digital layers of people, networks and urban infrastructures resulting from real-time, ubiquitous technology and platforms

Networkd City Image by SENSEable City Lab

‘Platform Urbanism’ Urban imaginaries: Ways of understanding the urban

Entrepreneurial tactics: Ways of selling data-driven services

Reflexive interventions: Ways of practising, ways of sensing

Data-driven governance: Shaping policy & strategy

Re-imagining the city: The Smart City

In 2012, for the first time ever, the TED Prize went not to an individual, but to an idea on

which our planet's future depends:

the City 2.0  

Re-imagining the city: Participatory Commons

Re-imagining the city: The City as software development kit

Re-imaging the city: Public Open Data

"In 2012 it made less and less sense to talk about 'the Internet’, 'the PC business,' 'telephones,' 'Silicon Valley,' or 'the media,' and much more sense to just study Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft.

These big five American vertically organized silos are re-making the world in their image. ”

-Bruce Stirling

‘The Age of the Platform’

Supported by Cloud computing, app ecosystems, mobile user devices and communities.

Successful platforms can be defined by the following features:

vibrant communities

rich-content channels

third-party APIs,

provision of value-added transactions (such as automated

recommendations & personalisation)

influence or adapt to constantly evolving devices.

Platforms host ‘communities of value’.

Platforms: ‘Software-driven innovation ecosystems’  

Networkd City Image by SENSEable City Lab

Key Questions How are platform-based business models shaping urban governance?

What claims are made?

What kinds of alliances, urban experts and coalitions are being established around these platform models?

Who benefits?

What are the risks?

Fields of Practice: Case studies

2. Digital entrepreneurialism: Platform based business models

1. Digital strategy: Government as Platform

3. Everyday urban sensing: Practical interventions

‘The second wave of digital transformation in government – Gov.Uk’

“

From business to Governance models

CASE STUDY City-wide digital strategy as digital governance tool

‘Roadmap for a Digital New York’ (2011 – 13)

Digital Manchester

Digital Vancouver

Digital Brisbane

OPEN DATA OPEN

GOVERNMENT

‘GOVERNMENT AS PLATFORM’

OPEN APIS

S-A-A-S

GOV TRANSPERANCY

NEW CIVICS

INSTITUTIONAL REFORM

OPEN INNOVATION

‘OPENNESS’?

2. SOCRATA CASE STUDY

‘A  cloud  so*ware  company  focused  exclusively  on  democra7sing  access  to  government  data’.  –Socrata        

Civic tech

Civic tech

Crowd funding Funding projects that enhance public services and spaces

Collaborative consumption Peer to peer sharing of resident owned good and services Tools for sharing other corporate assets (incl land) Place based rorums

Open Government Access to public data Transparency of govermment decision making

Source: Knight Foundation 2014

Start ups & Incubators Tech based / VC backed investors

Civic tech

SOCRATA-POWERED CIVIC DASHBOARD

166%  

80%  

108%  

95%  

79%  

83%  

0%   50%   100%   150%   200%  

Revenue Growth

Customer Growth

Employee Growth

Retention Rate

Upgrade to new services

No of datasets

2013  

2013 DEMAND FOR SERVICES

PLATFORM PLAYS ON CITY GOV

What are the risks?

3. Reflexive interventions

Reflections

Rights to information infrastructure?

Data citizenship, digital ecosystems

Reflexive interventions

Thank you!

s.barns@uws.edu.au @_sarahbarns