Projeto Portugal 2020

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Data de conclusão

Sumário

The project consists of fundamental and empirical research on smart cities, to be conducted at the Research Centre for Justice and Governance (JusGov) of the University of Minho by a multidisciplinary research team involving lawyers, computer engineers and civil engineers. It focuses on three key challenges faced by policy makers, legislators and public administrators when dealing with the goal of promoting smart cities and digital transition: (i) the adoption of digital technologies in the management of public organisations; (ii) the promotion of cities where technologies are an integral part of the urban fabric and social practices, including matters concerning public bodies and the labour relations between them and their employees; and (iii) the solution of problems arising out of the treatment of data, with the difficult balance between an open (or circular) economy of data and the protection of citizens' privacy and secrets. The team will engage in the theoretical debates about the concept of smart cities and about the legal and ethical frame of reference for city governance, covering various aspects of smart cities, such as smart mobility (of people, goods and data), urban planning models, and urban micro-logistics. The review of the relevant legal framework - at international, supranational (EU) and domestic levels - will be combined with an empirical study of the state of digital transition in seven municipalities in the North of Portugal (Amares, Barcelos, Braga, Guimarães, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Vila Verde). On the basis of the research outcomes and upon wide consultation with stakeholders at national and local level [e.g. National Agency for Administrative Modernisation (AMA), the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, the Cávado Intermunicipal Community, the Local Authorities Observatory, Minho’s Industrial Association, and civil society organisations such as Quadrilátero], the team will draft a Global Strategy for Smart Cities, modelled after the Smart City Charter adopted in 2017 by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). Besides the draft of the Global Strategy, the project’s outputs will include academic publications (edited volumes, articles in peer reviewed journals), policy papers and recommendations, and training sessions for civil servants at local level.