ENGAGING COMMUNITIES WITH
DATA SOVEREIGNTY
PROJECT: community engagement & report
digital equity lab - the new school
ADVISOR: maya wiley
TEAM: michelle ponce & isabel saffon
PARTNER: nyc mayor's office of tech & innovation
YEAR: 2017
LOCATION: brownsville, brooklyn, ny
THEMES: digital equity, data sovereignty, smart
cities, community engagement
PROJECT
ADVISOR
TEAM
PARTNER
YEAR
LOCATION
THEMES
community engagement & report
digital equity lab
the new school
michelle ponce & isabel saffon
nyc mayor's office of tech & innovation
2017
brownsville, brooklyn, ny
digital equity, data sovereignty, smart
cities, community engagement
>> take a look at the report on issu
This project was situated within the City’s Neighborhood Innovation Labs initiative, an attempt to readjust the focus of smart city technology from efficiency to social equity. The lab involves historically marginalized communities in Brownsville, Brooklyn in the development of local smart city technologies.
This engagement project, situated within the lab, aimed to guide an honest and open conversation between the City and Brownsville residents as to what role technology can play in addressing community issues. The engagement tool consisted of two visual models that contrasted the current smart city approach with a “what if” scenario in which the community guides the development of smart technologies. The engagement tool provided a prompt to start a conversation around data sovereignty. Participants added responses, ideas, and additional questions, which were published as recommendations to the City in pursuing community-driven smart city developments.
>> read the full report on issu
THE DESIGN RESEARCH PROCESS
The development of this project followed a human-centered design research process, including stakeholder interviews, desk research, spatial analysis, systems analysis, prototyping, user testing, and ideation.
The process was guided by a value-driven approach adopting an equity perspective. The digital equity framework requires to acknowledge and actively combat existing inequities in order to achieve equity.