Matthew Barker
I am studying for a PHD in human-computer interaction. I am interested in the design of urban spaces and previously worked on the Milton Keynes Smart City project
Location Milton Keynes
Activity
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Do you think its possible to create a 'smart city' blueprint that can be used anywhere. Or does a new project plan need to be developed for each city. Bear in mind that a set of standards that could be applied to all cities may cut out a lot of planning time!
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Matthew Barker replied to Sudhir Tiku
This is a good point Sudhir. Adding to this, how do you think insights might be gained from data in your city? How might this help to improve the city?
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Matthew Barker replied to Maria I.
Are there any ideas out there for how something like this might be scaled up!?
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Matthew Barker replied to Maria I.
There are some interesting strategies out there. One way is to tap into social consciousness and competitiveness. Take a look at this project for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-L5helmgDo
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Matthew Barker replied to Maria I.
Ok, the floor is open for ideas on this.
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Matthew Barker replied to sarah c
This is an interesting point. Being able to obtain data doesn't necessarily bring change. It needs to then be acted upon. In the case of Portsmouth, do you believe the data is being used in the right way? Do you think there any effective methods by which we might use data to bring about change?
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Matthew Barker replied to yassmin mohamed
Hi Yassmin, thanks for your comments here. I'm interested in your decision that noise and pollution sensors would be most useful in your city. In particular, how do you think they could be used in your city? And what benefits might they bring?
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Matthew Barker replied to Sudhir Tiku
Hi Sudhir, why does Warsaw stand out for you?
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Ok, what do you like about this one Yassmin? What makes it stand out for you?
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This is an interesting point. In an interconnected, smart city it's difficult to be fully aware of how your personal data is being used. Do you think there are any strategies that might be taken to make data-use more transparent.
We've recently seen the EU impose GDPR regulation. How would this type of thing look in a smart city context?
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Cities with lots of tall buildings tend to create lots of wind because the wind rebounds off the building surfaces. Here's an example of an interesting design for a wind turbine that attaches to skyscrapers to take advantage of this effect - https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/20/2018-james-dyson-awards-o-wind-turbine-nicolas-orellana-yaseen-noorani/
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In this latter case, when there is a disagreement, do you think citizens should be able to veto smart city projects or should we leave it to governments to make decisions on behalf of the citizens?
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This is an interesting point. Returning to the example of communication protocols, how do they get established ie. who has the authority to create them? I would expect there to be lots of competing ideas in this field.
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This really sums up the issues well Robert. Do you think this government-led model would promote creativity and innovation?
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This last point you make about what we mean by 'smart'. Is an interesting one. Its something that we will come back to throughout the programme. Culture is not something that is often spoken about in smart city discussion. Do you think it should be in the scope of smart city designers?
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Matthew Barker replied to Becca Drake
Ho Becca.
To extend this task, who do you think should have access to the information and why? -
Matthew Barker replied to Kseniya Oslyakova
Hi Kzeniya, this is interesting. Would you like to share which city it is? Do you know what they do with the data from the sensors?
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Matthew Barker replied to John Mishasek
No problem. One of the great things about this MOOC course is that we see that cities across the world are facing similar problems. Go ahead and share some of your insights if you like.
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Matthew Barker replied to Rohan Kondel
Yes seems to be a popular one. Do any of you guys have any ideas to share for how we might address the issue of ageing populations?
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This is an interesting discussion. Put another way, how might city governance motivate citizens to get involved? What are the incentives?
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This is an interesting point Santiago. Business is often portrayed as a driver of progress. Do you think that citizens themselves can benefit from Google's ambitions? Or is it a hindrance?
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Yes, there are certainly some benefits to them. Do you think there are any drawbacks to doing smart city development in this systematic fashion?
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You make some good points here Maria. Do you think that these kinds of standards are applicable in all cities? In other words would you be able to measure the success of all smart cities in the same way?
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This is a really good point Usman. Do you think theIs there is a blueprint for fostering the kind of initiative that is necessary in the smart city project?
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This seems like a good argument Peter. Can you tell us a bit more about how it might work in practice though? When you talk about an elected body are you referring to the town council or a body that has been elected specifically for the smart city project?
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Matthew Barker replied to David Percival
This is interesting David. How do you think the wider public might help? Is it just about understanding what the problems are. Or could the citizens help to design the solution as well?
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Matthew Barker replied to María José Salmerón
These sound like meaningful projects where a hackathon might be useful,. But who would you like to be involved in these hackathons? Who would bring the ideas and who would find ways of applying them?
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Matthew Barker replied to Andrea K
These are all good points. How do you think technology might be used to solve the very fundamental problems such as lack of drinking water and sewage systems? Is this something that can be solved cheaply with smart technological solutions or does it require heavy infrastructure?
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Matthew Barker replied to Lou Leigh
Yes, this is a good summary of the approach. To extend it though, what kinds of problems do you think can be addressed with smart solutions in Ajmar? Will new technologies be enough to solve them?
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Yes, it's always a good idea to test out a project on a small scale before doing it on a larger scale. What kinds of projects do you think should be involved? Do you think the problems in Ajmar the same as those that might be encountered in other cities?
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Matthew Barker replied to María José Salmerón
Hi Maria, that is a whole lot of sensing systems! And yes! Citizens are clearly a contributor in terms of surveillance data. Not that they are aware off it! To extend this, how would you feel about the citizens getting access to some of the data or even contributing their own data to a publicly available data set? Do you think it would be a good idea? Bad...
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This is interesting Vesna. Can you explain a bit more about why you think its important to re-organise the use of resources?
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Hi Usman, this is a good argument. How do you think Barcelona might address this challenge?
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Matthew Barker replied to Elle Idan
Yes, it is clearly an important issue. How do you think this kind of problem might be addressed in a smart city? Do you think that technology is the answer?
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Hi Maria, Do you think that the citizens might be able to play a role in any of these projects? Do you think their opinions matter?
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Singapore is clearly one of the cities, which is putting a smart city strategy into action. You mention a number of interesting projects. Which problems are they designed to address though? Is it all to do with boosting the economy or are there other issues that need to be handled in Singapore?
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This is interesting Maria. A truly Mega-City! Do you have any initial ideas for how technology might be used to address one of these issues?
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That makes a lot of sense. Would you like to share any ideas for what kinds of data are most valuable for citizens?
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This is an interesting discussion. How do you think we might balance innovation and experimentation with safety concerns?
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This is a really interesting point Alex. Whose job do you think it might be to maintain the diversity? Artists and architects? City planners? Software and hardware companies?
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What do you think about involving citizens in the actual decision making process? Would it be useful? How would it work?
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Matthew Barker replied to Jim Hill
This is an eclectic mix of projects. Which of these would you say is the most interesting as a smart city initiative?
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This looks light a great idea. a little portable environmental sensor. Can you tell us bit more about why you chose this and how you would like to see it being used Yana?
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Matthew Barker replied to Terry Norman
So, do you think we need to change how hackathons are branded to open them up to a broader audience? How might we benefit from a more inclusive hackathon brand?
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Matthew Barker replied to Yana Marakova
This is a good story of what sounds like a successful Hackathon Yana. What do you think might have been the outcomes?
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Matthew Barker replied to Usmanu Ali
What kinds of issues would you want to tackle in a hackathon in your city Usmanu?
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This article in the Guardian might interest you - https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/17/truth-smart-city-destroy-democracy-urban-thinkers-buzzphrase
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This is a very interesting point you make Douglas. There is some debate right now about whether the term livable city is preferable to smart city. Do you think this is a better term for a city development project like the one in Ajmar? Is it just a terminology issue or something deeper?
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Matthew Barker replied to John Lai
Do you think technology might help to address this issue or are we talking about policy? Could technology help the city inhabitants to participate more actively in city decision making for services?
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Matthew Barker replied to John Lai
Very interesting article John. Thanks for posting this. So can you explain bit more about why you posted this article? Do you think governments need to be more transparent about what their smart city project entails?
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This is a really interesting point. Do you think that we need to change the way people think about what the term smart means then?
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Matthew Barker replied to Michael G
You make some good points Michael. Is there any way that you think low cost technology infrastructure might be used in a city like Ajmar effectively? In a way that might improve basic living conditions?
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Matthew Barker replied to Arindam Sen
Finding effective ways to secure data with encryption is definitely going to be very important in the coming years. What kinds of data would you suggest might be useful and which ones are most important to encrypt?
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Matthew Barker replied to Arindam Sen
[OU Tutor] Yes, that certainly sounds like a good way to help people to stay healthy. Which other kinds of citizen sensing would you like to see in your city at some point in the future?
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Matthew Barker replied to peter hurrell
That seems like good reasoning to me. How do you think they might use smart technology to achieve this?
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Can you imagine using technology to get more people involved? would this help to share ideas more effectively than traditional methods?
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I came across this Playable Cities project in Lagos a while ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lakC5CNSZEo
Can the kinds of spontaneous playful interactions they describe do anything to help improve the city?
This article seems to suggest not - https://www.citylab.com/design/2016/11/playable-cities-projects-crosswalk-party/506528/
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That's interesting Chibuzor. Do you think the use of these energy meters is going to be successful at engaging the citizens of Lagos? Will it make them think more carefully about how they use energy? Or would you suggest a different approach too engagement?
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At this stage can you think any ways that these issues could be addressed in a "smart way", with the use of technology?
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Matthew Barker replied to Gwen Kinloch
Yes, this is an interesting point. So can you foresee a future where all the different data sets are combined to get a multi-dimensional picture of how the city is performing? Will health and pollution data really tell the full story about how healthy a city is to live in?
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Matthew Barker replied to Johan Muller
This is an interesting discussion. Is there any way that you think this process could be decentralised so the citizens hold the city accountable? Can the citizens themselves provide the data that defines how the city is performing?
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Do you think all smart cities should have the same standards Brian, or should they be fluid and adaptable?
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This is an interesting dilemma. So in a world where no IOT technology is truly secure how would you suggest we create standards for data security?
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This is a nice way of picturing it Johan. You mention that cities can have a control on the volume and quality of each ingredient. Should the smart city standards protocol include some information on how to adapt a smart city to a given context ie. should there also be cake recipes within the recipe for "a sweeter cake, a moister cake etc?Or are city contexts...
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These are some really good points Gwen and really make the case for creating standards for smart city design. Do you think there are any drawbacks to having a set of standards that all smart cities should target?
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That sounds like a good idea. Inclusiveness is certainly important in smart city design. Where do you think this kind of leader might be found? Politics? Business? or somewhere else?
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Matthew Barker replied to Johan Muller
Yes a really interesting discussion. A hackathon that includes the potential users of the applications as well as the developers may well result in more useful and usable applications. How do you think n event that includes tech developers and general citizens might be structured? How will we get the two different parties to communicate effectively in the...
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Matthew Barker replied to Minocal Valérus
This is an interesting idea Minocal. What kinds of data do you think they might use and how might they use it to solve the problems?
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You make a very good point here Sebastian. Take a look at this strategy description from the official India Smart Cities website - http://smartcities.gov.in/content/innerpage/strategy.php. The strategy seems to combine smart and traditional infrastructure projects. Do you think the strategy, as it is described, would meet the needs of the citizens?
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Matthew Barker replied to Suzy Pickles
You might like to take a look at the Amsterdam smart city website https://amsterdamsmartcity.com/projects. They have a number of projects that are focused on connecting people and building positive functioning communities. I can't recall an example of a project which is specifically focused on protecting cultural heritage though. A number of cities e.g....
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Matthew Barker replied to Brian Stewart
Yes this is an interesting idea. Imagine if the trains had dynamic data about where people want to get on and off the trains. Do you think this data could be used to change where the train might stop, making them more efficient?
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Do you think that data about how crowded trains are at specific times of the day might help in any way?
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Matthew Barker replied to Brian Stewart
This is a goo idea Brian. I particularly like the use of dynamic weather and pricing data. Is there any other way in which you think the citizens themselves could provide data that would help make the transport systems run in a more timely and organised fashion?
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Matthew Barker replied to ARIJIT SAHA
What role do you think citizens could play in providing data that would help manage parking issues?
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Matthew Barker replied to Diego Rueda
Is this a citizen seeing project you are thinking about Diego? Which aspect of the city do you intend to innovate in? It really depends on the city you are targeting your idea at and whether the council want to support your idea. So I would suggest contacting the city council to find out if there is support for smart city innovation available.
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Matthew Barker replied to Richard (Ric) Bravery
These are some interesting ideas Richard. What kinds of ethical ore privacy issues do you think might arise in a world when citizens are kitted out with equipment to sense their city?
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That's interesting. What kind of smart city intervention would you most like to see in Kuching?
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This is an interesting point Nikolaos. How do you think the synAthena platform that is proposed might help to improve the economy in Athens?
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So in this case do you think that smart city projects in developing countries should be top-down ie. controlled by the institutions rather than the citizens, or are there ways to engage people in smart city development regardless of their education? Think about some of the common issues that cities face around the world. Do they all require high levels of...
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This is an interesting example of an organisation, in this case google, finding a way to engage citizens in smart city development. How have google made it appealing for you and others to become prosumers? What is their approach to engagement?
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These are some interesting examples Brian. Privacy concerns are indeed a potential problem when citizens are involved in data gathering. How do you think we should be tackling this issue? How can we avoid the Big Brother scenario?
