Empowering communities with DataCare: ethical data practices for smart cities

Overview

https://research.qut.edu.au/designlab/https://research.qut.edu.au/designlab/

Smart cities hold immense potential for progress, but their success hinges on citizen empowerment and ethical data practices. Our research initiative, DataCare, aims at reshaping the landscape of smart cities by prioritising citizens, communities, and small businesses. This project, developed in collaboration with Brisbane Residents United (BRU), focuses on transforming smart cities from profit-driven entities to community-led developments.

BRU is a community association serving as a vital grassroots advocacy and peer support network for suburban and local resident groups across Greater Brisbane. This PhD project in collaboration with BRU aims to amplify the voices of local residents and communities in evidence-based advocacy and sustainable development practices that prioritise community wellbeing. The PhD will contribute new methods and approaches to the DataCare project to ensure community perspectives are better integrated into urban planning and development. By leveraging participatory urban data analysis and ethical data practices, the overall goal is to empower communities and promote more liveable, sustainable, resilient and fairer urban environments.

Research activities

Prospective students will be involved in a range of exciting and impactful research activities, including:

• developing participatory data visualisation tools to help communities understand and engage with data
• conducting DataCare clinics to offer expert guidance on data collection, usage, and privacy concerns
• leading DataCare seminars that explore the legal and ethical dimensions of data, beyond standard digital literacy
• facilitating DataCare labs that use a living lab approach to foster community-led innovations for smart cities
• organising DataCare studio workshops for speculative design, enabling communities to envision and plan for desirable urban futures
• collaborating with BRU and other local stakeholders to address specific urban planning challenges and opportunities in Brisbane
• engaging in innovative ethnographic and participatory co-design methods as part of the QUT Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) program: Creating Better Digital Futures.

Outcomes

The project aims to achieve several significant outcomes:

• increased awareness and understanding of ethical data practices among citizens
• empowerment of communities to make informed decisions about smart city technologies
• development of new, community-led services and solutions that address local needs
• creation of a scalable framework for ethical data practices that can be adapted to various urban contexts
• enhanced collaboration between citizens, small businesses, and local governments in shaping the future of smart cities
• generation of actionable new knowledge about the structural conditions and circumstances that impact equitable, informed, and positive digital inclusion and participation
• provision of an evidence base for developing just policies and practices that create better digital futures for society.

Skills and experience

Ideal candidates should possess the following skills and experience:

• a background in data science, urban planning, community engagement, or a related field
• experience with data visualisation and participatory design methods
• strong analytical skills and familiarity with ethical data practices
• excellent communication and community engagement skills
• a passion for civic values, grassroots advocacy, and inclusive urban development
• an interest in ethnographic research and participatory co-design methods.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

• ethical data practices
• smart cities
• community engagement
• data visualisation
• participatory design
• urban planning
• digital inclusion
• speculative design
• civic media

Contact

Contact Professor Marcus Foth via email m.foth@qut.edu.au