Prototyping sustainable mobility practices: user-generated data in the smart city

ABSTRACT

Although smart cities are now the subject of a growing literature, there is a paucity of research which considers how smart city projects develop on the ground. This paper begins to address this concern by exploring the development of a transport application, MotionMap, within the MK:Smart smart city programme. MotionMap aims to provide city-wide real-time transport information services. It is being developed through an ongoing dialogue sparked by the interaction of lead users and prototypes of a smart transport app. We draw on insights from Strategic Niche Management and social practice theories to explore how ‘smart’ might be integrated within and potentially transform the plurality of mobility practices that exist in cities.

KEYWORDS:

• Transport
• social shaping of technology
• technology and innovation studies
• open innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors .

Notes on contributors

Dr Alan-Miguel Valdez is a Research Associate in the School of Engineering and Innovation at the Open University. His recently awarded PhD applied the SNM framework to study electric vehicle interventions in MK. His current work further develops this early market niche perspective within the transport work package of MK:Smart, a £16 million smart city programme.

Dr Matthew Cook F.R.G.S. is Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Sustainability at the Open University. By drawing upon several related literatures (e.g. cultural geography, science and technology studies), he seeks in-depth insights on the governance of innovation and sustainability. Much of his current work focuses on innovation in city regions, with particular reference to the development of smart city initiatives.

Dr Per-Anders Langendahl is a visiting research fellow at the Open University and director of Langendahl Consulting AB. His work is rooted in Innovation and Transition Studies. He has collaborated with industrial actors to explore socio-technical change for sustainability, including corporate environmental strategies; environmental innovation journeys and developing smart solutions for sustainable cities.

Dr Helen Roby is a Research Fellow and Business Development Manager for ISM-Open. Current research interests include behaviour change techniques to encourage sustainable behaviours; altering personal consumption practices to reduce environmental impact and the use of Big Data, particularly in the smart cities setting, in developing behaviour change interventions.

Prof. Stephen Potter is Emeritus Professor of Transport Strategy in the School of Engineering and Innovation at the Open University. His research includes work on the diffusion of cleaner vehicle technologies, low carbon transport systems and more sustainable travel behaviour. He has worked with the MK smart city programme including research linked to the Milton Keynes Electric Vehicle project, the Project Falcon smart grids programme, MK:SMART and the MK 2050 Vision project.