The recently concluded Pact of Amsterdam, which was agreed upon by the member states of the European Union as the Urban Agenda for the EU, highlights the relevance of research in the field of urban data.
The significance of this topic also indicates the relevance of the Centre for BOLD Cities. As the Centre specialises in researching the citizen and government perspective in the big, open and linked data city, the publication of the Pact of Amsterdam can be considered a further validation for its focus area.
The Urban Agenda for the EU will contribute to enhancing the knowledge base on urban issues and exchange of best practices and knowledge. As its text reads, “[r]eliable data is important for portraying the diversity of structures and tasks of Urban Authorities, for evidence-based urban policy making, as well as for providing tailor-made solutions to major challenges”. Currently, knowledge on how Urban Areas evolve is fragmented, and successful experiences can be better exploited.
The Urban Agenda focuses on different categories and priority areas. From a number of these, the relevance of the Centre for BOLD Cities comes forward. “The exchange of knowledge and experiences as well as monitoring results in Urban Areas will be central to improving and assessing the effects of the Urban Agenda for the EU and relevant EU actions,” the Pact of Amsterdam states. “Therefore, more reliable data on Urban Areas is needed and should be exchanged, while taking into account the relevant EU data protection legislation, the need to minimise administrative burdens and the heterogeneity of Urban Authorities.”
The BOLD Cities emphasis on citizen perspectives is echoed in the Urban Agenda’s digital transition priority: “The objective is to provide better public services to citizens and create business opportunities. The focus will be on: data collection (including ownership), better use of open data, data management (including the capacity of citizens, Urban Authorities and privacy issues) and digital services (incl. new technologies) and accessibility of digital public services to disabled and elderly citizens (in accordance with international WCAG 2.0 standards).”
Source: Urban Agenda for the EU – Pact of Amsterdam