How can we involve citizens in urban data issues? What problems and opportunities do residents see when it comes to societal challenges? And how does (the use of) data come into play when we address these issues? In the Data Empowerment Design Studio, BOLD Cities researchers team up with local residents, designers and neighbourhood initiatives in order to discuss these questions and develop new ideas. The Data Empowerment Design Studio project is led by Emiel Rijshouwer (Erasmus University) and Els Leclercq (Delft University of Technology).
Data sources increasingly influence daily life in cities, in both personal and impersonal manners. One of the Centre for BOLD Cities’ main objectives is creating awareness of these processes. Data empowerment is a next step, in which urban residents not only gain knowledge on the use of data in the city, but are actively involved in figuring out what their role in the digital society is or can be. By asking citizens how they think about digitally influenced urban processes, and inviting them to think about possible solutions, the Data Empowerment Design Studio not only enhances the development of data empowerment, but also looks into the themes and questions that arise in topics that deal with urban data.
