25Q in Copenhagen

The first prototype of 25 Questions for Cities was deployed in a public space in Copenhagen on May 21-22 2019 for the Prix Bloxhub Interactive Symposium, where the focus of the questions was on the relationship between liveable cities and technology, within the categories of mobility, environment, public space, buildings, and governance.

We asked, for example, who should own data collected from public WiFi, if airborne drones should be encouraged in cities, and to what extent shops should use facial recognition technology.

Throughout the day, we saw some cones changing state by the hour (signalling disagreement), while others were left relatively unattended (signalling agreement). Most importantly, we saw the space marked by an array of bright orange traffic cones transformed into an ad hoc public forum, prompting thought and debate amongst the citizens and visitors of Copenhagen. “I never thought of smart cities this way”, said one passer-by, while another declared “I can’t believe someone thinks this!”, before switching a cone from yes to no.

Further results are shared below along with a few high-level data visualisations.

Data output / 21.05.2019 / Copenhagen

• The top 5 most popular opinions
  1. 100% agree that cities should impose speed limits on electric scooters (Cone 03-A)
  2. 87% agree that all homes should be required to have a smart meter to monitor electricity usage (Cone 09-A)
  3. 80% agree that the airspace in cities should remain free from airborne delivery drones (Cone 02-B)
  4. 80% agree that libraries should continue to offer physical books and not replace their stock by e-books (Cone 12-A)
  5. 80% agree that data collected from public WiFi should be owned by a public authority (Cone 15-A)
• The top 3 most adverse opinions / 21.05.2019 / Copenhagen
  1. 53% agree that police should track private phone GPS signals to ensure public safety, while 47% agree that private phone GPS signals should be inaccessible to public authorities (Cone 16)
  2. 53% agree that public spaces should prioritise free WiFi above benches, while 47% agree that public spaces should prioritise benches above free WiFi (Cone 13)
  3. 53% agree that public transport data should only be used by a public authority, while 47% agree that public transport data should be shared with private mobility companies (Cone 20)

About the findings

The findings are based on 15 data extractions from the cones over an 8 hour period. Approximately 300 people engaged with the installation.