What are we researching?
The Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for BOLD (Big, Open and Linked Data) Cities investigates the ethical and social consequences of digitization and the rapid rise of data use in cities. The perspectives of residents and city administrators are central; the research is done for, by and with citizens and administrators. Examples of our research questions are: How can we involve citizens in urban data issues? Do new safety technologies (cameras or drones) change the perception of the city? How can we use data to improve the lives of vulnerable people in the city?
Why are we doing this research?
The aim of the Centre for BOLD Cities research projects is to contribute to solutions for urban issues using new technologies and to question and investigate these technologies themselves on their risks. Because the research teams are multidisciplinary, we look at complex issues from different perspectives and expertise. Citizens and administrators are actively involved in the research because these parties are ultimately the users of the new technologies and data in the city.
How are we doing this research?
We tend to conduct this research using design methods and in co-creation with stakeholders. Want to know more about the research projects of the Centre for BOLD Cities? Read more .
How does our research make an impact?
BOLD Cities is a Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre and cooperates with Hogeschool Rotterdam, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, municipal departments in Rotterdam and The Hague, De Vereniging Nederlandse Gemeenten, the Ministry of the Interior, local SMEs and smart city startups.
The impact of our research can be seen, among other things, in:
in which citizens and civil servants walk through the city and think about data and privacy in the city. These walks are now also organised by organisations such as Waag.
: an online game that maps out the knowledge of data and privacy of citizens and creates awareness. The game has been made into for secondary schools.
a contest in which designers and artists were invited to contribute to the visibility of data in cities. Click on this to see the results of the contest
in the Data Empowerment Design Studio, Centre for BOLD Cities, scientists come together with local city residents, designers and neighborhood initiatives to discuss how they can get involved in urban data issues.
together with Platform 31, BOLD Cities developed a roadmap for municipalities deploying big data.