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Documentation from the Array of Things Public Meeting at Lozano Library

Denise Linn

We’ve compiled documentation from the Array of Things Public Meeting on June 14, 2016 at the Lozano Library Branch. This is part of our Array of Things Civic Engagement project — a series of community meetings and feedback loops to create dialogue around the Array of Things project, collect community input on privacy, and introduce concepts around how the Internet of Things can benefit communities.

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The purpose of the Array of Things Public Meeting was to educate the public on the Array of Things project and help facilitate community feedback on the Array of Things Governance & Privacy policy. These were open meetings in Chicago Public Library Branches. No knowledge of technology or sensors was equired to be a welcome, meaningful addition to the event.

Pictures

Smart Chicago created album on Flickr with all photographs from the event. Here is a selection:

Social Media

Here is a Storify of the meeting created by Smart Chicago.

Handouts

Below is the flyer used to the promote the event. Smart Chicago documenters tasked with outreach distributed flyers and event information around the city, focusing in particular on community spaces in Pilsen — churches, computer centers, libraries, small businesses, etc.

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Here is an agenda that was distributed at the meeting:

Here is a map distributed at the meeting that showcases the possible Array of Things Sensor node locations:

Here is the full text of the privacy policy that was distributed during the event also found online at this link:

Here is a one-pager distributed to meeting participates describing how they can provide feedback on the policy:

Here is a letter submitted in person by the community coalition, FAiR:

Presentation

Here are the slides that Charlie Catlett of UrbanCCD used at the event:

Notes

Below are the detailed notes from the event which we continue to compile and improve. Very important disclaimer: this is an unofficial record of proceedings and not an exact transcript of the event — rather, a summary of the conversation. We are certain that there are errors and omissions in this document. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, contact Smart Chicago here.

This documentation is made possible by our Smart Chicago Documenters Program. Our Documenters program is an essential tool for us to add new thinkers, generate ideas, and expand the field for civic tech. The Program played an important role in other Smart Chicago Projects like the Chicago School of Data and the Police Accountability Meeting coverage. Nourhy Chiriboga and Liz Baudler assisted with event outreach.  Veronica Benson assisted with event outreach, notes, and pictures. Jackie Serrato took pictures. Lucia Gonzalez provided Spanish language support.

Ways Residents Can Give Feedback on the Array of Things Governance & Privacy Policy

Denise Linn

ArrayofThingsLogo-smallToday the draft Array of Things Governance & Privacy Policy was released. The policy discloses the privacy principles and practices for Array of Things and defines how decisions about the program are made. Residents can comment on this draft policy from June 13, 2016 to June 27, 2016. This blog post takes inventory of each way residents can contribute their voices to the draft Governance & Privacy Policy.

Annotate the Governance & Privacy Policy Using Madison

The text of the draft Governance & Privacy Policy is posted here on the OpenGov Foundation’s Madison Platform. Using Madison, residents can edit and annotate specific sections and language of the policy. Using this co-creation web tool aligns with Smart Chicago civic engagement model & goals.

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See this video to get more information on how to sign up for and use Madison:

Comment on the Policy Using this Online Form

In addition to or instead of using Madison, residents are invited to submit comments and questions on the policy through this form also below:

Attend a Public Meeting

To learn more about the Array of Things and give feedback on the Governance & Privacy policy in person, all are invited to the scheduled public meetings:

  • The first meeting will be at 5:30pm on June 14, 2016 at Lozano Library. Here is our blog post announcing the event and giving more details
  • The second meeting will be at 5:30pm on June 22, 2016 at Harold Washington Library. Here is our blog post announcing the event and giving more details

Food will be served. Smart Chicago documenters will record, archive, and share the proceedings from these meetings.

 

Smart Chicago will synthesize and analyze residents’ comments from Madison, the online form, and the public meetings. We seek to facilitate a process where smart city infrastructure like the Array of Things is built for and with everyone. We want to spur a conversation about data, sensors, privacy, and the Internet of Things and how these innovations can be put in service to the people of Chicago.

Find all of the background information, writing, and work for Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement work on here.

Announcing the June 22nd Array of Things Public Meeting at Harold Washington Library

Denise Linn

As part of Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement Work, we’re hosting an event in in the Loop on Wednesday, June 22, 2016:

Event: Array of Things Public Meeting

Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Time: 5:30pm – 7pm

Location: 400 S State St. – Harold Washington Library. The meeting will take place in the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Rooms A&B of Harold Washington Library. Directions to the Lower Level Multi-Purpose Rooms A&B: From the main entrance on State St., enter the Library and walk toward the main atrium. Turn left down a hallway and and follow the sign for the escalator to go downstairs. Go down the escalator and look for signs guiding you to the room.

There will be food catered by Corner Bakery – assorted sandwiches, salad, fruit, cookies, chips, and beverages

The Array of Things project is a collection of multi-purpose sensors that will collect data about the livability factors in our city like air quality, noise pollution, and flooding. These data will fuel new research about Chicago neighborhoods. This is an open meeting. Everyone is invited. No knowledge of technology or sensors is required to be a welcome, meaningful addition to the event.

Here is the flyer for this meeting:

The purpose of the Array of Things Public Meetings is educate the public on the Array of Things project and help facilitate community feedback on the Array of Things Privacy & Governance policy. You can read more about our goals and model for this work in this blog post.

If you are interested in attending the Array of Things Public Meetings or would like to receive more information about the Governance & Privacy Policy, please fill out this form:

Fill out my online form.

Announcing the June 14th Array of Things Public Meeting at Lozano Library

Denise Linn

As part of Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement Work, we’re hosting an event in in Pilsen on Tuesday, June 14, 2016:

Event: Array of Things Public Meeting

Date: Tuesday, June 14. 2016

Time: 5:30pm – 7pm

Location: 1805 S Loomis St. – Lozano Library

The Array of Things project is a collection of multi-purpose sensors that will collect data about the livability factors in our city like air quality, noise pollution, and flooding. These data will fuel new research about Chicago neighborhoods. This is an open meeting. Everyone is invited. No knowledge of technology or sensors is required to be a welcome, meaningful addition to the event.

Here is the flyer for this meeting:

The purpose of the Array of Things Public Meetings is educate the public on the Array of Things project and help facilitate community feedback on the Array of Things Privacy & Governance policy. You can read more about our goals and model for this work in this blog post.

If you are interested in attending the Array of Things Public Meetings or would like to receive more information about the Governance & Privacy Policy, please fill out this form:

Smart Chicago’s Array of Things Civic Engagement Goals & Model

Denise Linn

Smart Chicago has committed to educate and engage residents with the new Array of Things project, which is operated by the Urban Center for Computation and Data (UrbanCCD) — a research initiative of the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory — also in partnership with the City. This engagement work aligns with our guiding principles. We want to facilitate a conversation in Chicago about data, sensors, the Internet of Things, and how we can put these things in service to the people.

Put simply, it’s Smart Chicago’s job to make sure that the public knows about this project and that any resident who has questions or input is heard.

Array of Things is an urban sensing project — one of the first of this kind and scale. Sensors will be placed across the city to measure livability factors like climate, pedestrian traffic, air quality, and flooding. The sensors will collect data about our city. That data will then be released publically for residents and researchers to interpret and use.

Smart Chicago Engagement Goals

The first goal is to build citywide awareness around Array of Things. We’ll do this through writing, convening, polling, and otherwise communicating with residents.

The second goal is to aid the operators of Array of Things in their research and community needs. Here’s how we describe that work on our project page:

Specifically, we’re going to work together in the design and implementation stages of Array of Things to consider the general public’s use cases for the network and creating applications relevant to everyday life in Chicago. The main thrust of our work will be to design and implement a strategic plan to inform and engage the public in the deployment and utilization of AoT.

The third goal is to aid the City of Chicago in gathering input on the governance and privacy policy for Array of Things. A draft of this policy will be released in mid-June and a two-week public comment period will follow. This governance and privacy policy was developed in cooperation between the operators of the Array of Things and the City, with input provided by an independent policy board including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research.

Managing feedback on the governance & privacy policy

Several methods will be used to collect resident feedback on the policy: public meetings, online forms, and Madison.

The OpenGov Foundation’s tool Madison is a government policy co-creation platform that collects public edits on policy or legislation. Here is how the OpenGov Foundation describes Madison:

Madison is a government policy co-creation platform that opens up laws and legislation previously off-limits to individuals and the Internet community. Launched to battle the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), it has since been used to power citizen participation in government policymaking in the United States Congress. With Madison, you can access the law as it’s being written, leave comments, annotate specific content, and interact with other civic-minded participants. Madison brings the lawmaking process straight to you, and gives you a say in your government’s decisions.

During the public comment period for the Array of Things governance and privacy policy, the text of the policy will be posted on Madison. Interested Chicagoans will be able to sign on to Madison to annotate, comment on, or support the text.

Public meetings to learn, engage, and share

Smart Chicago will host public meetings in which residents can learn about Array of Things from the project’s operators, ask questions, and provide input through polling and community discussion.

These public meetings will have several components:

  • A presentation on Array of Things from the project’s operators
  • Community discussion and Q&A
  • Resources for further action. We will have Laptops set up for residents to see the Array of Things website and provide feedback on the Array of Things governance and privacy policy

We will also have people working through our documenter program to record, archive, and share the proceedings.

We are holding two community meetings during June. The first will be at Lozano Library on Tuesday, June 14th from 5pm to 7pm. The second will be at Harold Washington Library on Wednesday, June 22nd from 5:30pm to 7pm. More details on those events will follow on the Smart Chicago blog.

If you would like to attend a public meeting or stay updated on the governance and privacy policy, fill out this form:

Fill out my online form.

Smart Chicago Welcomes Ash Center Summer Fellow Glynis Startz

Smart Chicago

linkedin_croppedToday Glynis Startz joins the Smart Chicago Collaborative as a summer graduate fellow from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University. Glynis will inform Smart Chicago’s work to make Chicago a smart city that truly works for everyone. She will primarily assist with, provide strategy for, and write about the Array of Things Civic Engagement work.

Glynis is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she has been transitioning from international development work to focus on helping local governments make the best use of data and technology. Before arriving at the Kennedy School she was a Research Analyst for Innovations for Poverty Action, working on randomized control trial program evaluations for poverty reduction interventions.

Please join us in welcoming Glynis Startz. Follow her @glssea on Twitter!