Peterborough Case Study

The Smart City and Its Publics
DATA REPOSITORY
The Smart City and Its Publics – Primary Research Material.

© R. Cowley, S. Joss, Y. Dayot (2017)
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simon_Joss
****
This data repository contains primary research data generated in

connection with the journal article ‘The Smart City and Its Publics’ (Cowley
et al. 2017). Open access publication is made on the condition that the
original source be duly acknowledged by anyone using the data.
To cite: R. Cowley, S. Joss, and Y. Dayot (2017). The Smart City and Its
Publics – Data Repository
Original article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2017.1293150
****
List of available documents
Policy landscapes
- Peterborough Policy Landscape

- Manchester Policy Landscape
- London Policy Landscape
- Glasgow Policy Landscape
- Bristol Policy Landscape
Case studies
- The smart city and its publics case study of Peterborough

- The smart city and its publics case study of Manchester
- The smart city and its publics case study of London
- The smart city and its publics case study of Glasgow
- The smart city and its publics case study of Bristol
- A summary of the analysis for all six cities “City Public Engagement
Index (spider diagram)”

THE SMART CITY AND ITS PUBLICS
CASE STUDY OF PETERBOROUGH

Author Reviewer Discussant
Youri DAYOT Rob COWLEY Simon JOSS

Introduction

In 2012 Peterborough submitted its 'Feasibility Study' and came second in the Technology
Strategy Board (TSB, now Innovate UK). They were awarded £3million instead of £24million
to implement a Smart City programme. Based on the feasibility study, but with reduced
ambitions, the City Council and the Local Economic Partnership Opportunity Peterborough
created Peterborough DNA to implement the programme. The four strands of the program
are very similar to the feasibility study: 'Smart business', 'Living data', 'Skills' and
'Innovation'. The first strand aims at creating a collaborative business community of SME's,
following the 'circular economy' approach promoted by Peterborough. The living data
component is constituted by a data visualisation portal (Urban Observatory), the installation
of weather station in schools, and the implementation of an interactive screen in the city
centre (OpenCity screen). Under the 'Skills' programme, MSc and placements schemes in
sustainability have been funded for Peterborough students. And last but not least, the
'Innovation' is centred around the 'Brainwave Portal' where 'entrepreneurs, residents and
communities can share, develop and discuss ideas that help to tackle city and business
challenges.' After the implementation of this initiatives, a report entitled 'Delivering a truly
smart city' has been published in 2014. There is a clear focus, both in the Feasibility study
and Delivering a truly smart city report on achieving green growth thanks to innovation. It
must be linked to the city's ambition to become the 'Environmental Capital of the UK'. And
because the focus is on finding economic solutions to climate change, the dominant mode
of citizen engagement is entrepreneurial, the Brainwave Innovation challenge being the
most prominent example : the idea behind it is to spur innovation buy offering funding to
promising business-led idea for tackling city challenges. Then, through the organisation of a
Hackathon to design the content of the OpenCity screen, citizens (in fact digital
professionals) are invited to co-produce public services. Finally, there is also a civic aspect as
the general public ('entrepreneurs, residents and businesses') are invited to highlight the
issues they want to be tackled and discuss the solutions.
1

PETERBOROUGH
(Status: May 2016)

Brainwave portal OpenCity Hackathon

(2014) (2014) (2014)

[C.1] [C.2] [C.3]

Innovation Week Urban

(2014) Peterborough Observatory
DNA (2015)
[C.4] (2013)
[B.1] [C.5]

Peterborough Opportunity
City Council Peterborough
Delivering a truly
Feasibility Study
smart city
(2012)
[A.1] (2014)
[A.2]

2

Policy Element Actor Year Reference
(launch)
A.1 Feasibility Study Peterborough City Council 2012 https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/3130726/3794125/Feasib
TSB Feasibility Study (Future Cities ility+Study+-+Peterborough+City+Council.pdf/65e92af1-445f-454d-
competition) 87b6-fce0a8c2cfb8
A.2 Delivering a truly smart city Peterborough City Council/ 2014 http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/upload/cmspage/peterboro
Peterborough DNA ugh-dna/10-09-14_11-58-35_peterborough_dna_online.pdf
B.1 Peterborough DNA Peterborough City Council/ 2013 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/about-us/

Opportunity Peterborough
C.1 Brainwave Portal Peterborough DNA/ 2014 http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/about/

InnoFun http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/hackathon-
peterborough-s-digital-heroes-joining-forces-for-a-smarter-city-1-
6417948
C.2 OpenCity Scren Peterborough DNA 2014 http://opencity.io/opencity-screen.html
C.3 Hackathon Open City Screen/ 2014 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/peterborough-innovation-week-/

Peterborough DNA
C.4 Innovation Week Peterborough DNA 2014 http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/peterborough-innovation-

week/
C.5 Urban Observatory Peterborough DNA 2015 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/urban-observatory/

3

Timescale

In 2012 Peterborough submitted its 'Feasibility Study' and came second in the Technology
Strategy Board (TSB, now Innovate UK). They were awarded £3million instead of £24million
to implement a Smart City programme. Nearly all the initiatives are launched in 2014 and
the 'Delivering a truly smart city' report is published after the implementation, providing a
summary of the ongoing policies. This document is published by the smart city body,
Peterborough DNA (2013), a partnership between the Local Economic Partnership
'Opportunity Peterborough' and the City Council. All the initiatives are implemented by
Peterborough DNA.

Issues Mobilised in Key Strategic Documents

Feasibility Study (2012)

Governance Medium: The second sentence of the introduction is ' Our citizens
and businesses are at the heart of everything we do'. They want to
encourage residents to take a part in decision making through
engagement and consultation. For the purpose of writing the
feasibility a series a workshop has been conducted. They also claim
that ‘Key to many of the strands is wider democratic engagement
across the city, meaning that Peterborough’s citizens will be
engaged as never before.’ But there is also the idea of a new mode
of governance: we ‘recognize the need for a new delivery model
to achieve change and build momentum towards realizing truly
sustainable growth’.
Economy Strong: Even if all the issues listed are tackled the main driver
seems to be economical. The first benefits listed are ‘enhanced
economic activity and prosperity’ and there is also a strong focus
on enhancing innovation thanks to data. Two strands are mainly
economical: 'The Peterborough Innovation Pool' (business
innovation hub) and the 'Sustainable city metabolism ('Delivers
working demonstration projects to improve resource efficiency
and build business consortia to ensure economic efficiency'). The
focus is on SME's innovation: 'Each strand proposes innovative
approaches, but crucially establishes a test-bed for SME
innovation, as part of this programme and into the future.'
Infrastructure Strong: Two out of four strands of the programme are related to
Infrastructure: 'Transporting Intelligence' ('Building the sustainable
infrastructure of the future' is mentioned in one of the four top
priorities) and 'Living Data' ( emphasis on data as an infrastructure
and connectivity). They also deal with energy (gas, electricity),
water and waste issues.
Environment Sustainability is a dominant issue. It has to be linked to
Peterborough's ambition to be the UK's environment capital. Two
of the four top priorities identified are linked to sustainability :
'Creating the UK’s Environment Capital' and 'Delivering substantial
& truly sustainable growth.'

4

Social Sustainability There is an important dimension of social sustainability as two of
the top priorities are related to it: ' Creating opportunities -
tackling inequalities' and ' Creating strong & supportive
communities'. Proposed initiatives include: Skills development to
tackle unemployment. Investment in local SME’s, reducing health
inequalities, promoting healthy lifestyles, enhancing life quality.
(Further comments if needed) Even if all the issues listed above are present in the feasibility study
the dominant issues are economy and sustainability: the objective
is to promote green growth. ('Peterborough is adamant that it
wants to deliver a truly sustainable future and that growth should
be a driver for that, rather than a threat')

Delivering a truly smart city (2014)
(The report has been published after the implementation of the initiatives.)

Governance Medium: The approach of the Living Data platform is to ‘encourage
people to interrogate the information for themselves and look for
connections, problems, and solutions’. Individual citizens are asked
to ’interrogate the information for themselves’ and look for
‘solutions’. The role of the citizen shifts from ‘holding accountable’
the elected member of the city Council to ‘problem-solving’. In the
introduction there is a claim that: 'Two priorities are central to
Peterborough's approach - integration and grassroots
collaboration'
Economy Strong: Economic activity is the central driver of the initiative;
Peterborough DNA is very much an economic development
programme. The 'fundamental goal' is said to be 'growth,
innovation and sustainability' and references to economy are
pervasive.
Infrastructure Weak: The infrastructure issue, which was present in the feasibility
study does not appear in the 2014 report. Considering the cost of
investment in the infrastructure, it is a logical consequence of the
reduced funding attributed by TSB.
Environment Strong: The main aim of the programme is to achieve green
growth, finding market-based solutions to the climate change
challenge : Skills development are in the area of Sustainability
(bursary for a six-month MSc), innovation is meant to 'long-term,
embedded change', the smart businesses must be 'sustainable in al
senses of the term'
Social Sustainability Weak: The circular economy approach, valorising reuse, has an
environmental but also a social aspect. Skills development program
(funding of MSc) are also part of social sustainability.
(Further comments if needed)

5


Key Initiatives

Summary of Initiatives
Initiative Name Key Actors Status / dates
Brainwave Portal Peterborough DNA/ Operational since 2014
InnoFun
OpenCity Screen Peterborough DNA Operational since 2014
Hackathon Open City Screen/ Due to be implemented in April
Peterborough DNA 2014
Innovation Week Peterborough DNA Ended in November 2014
Urban Observatory Peterborough DNA Operational since June 2015

Brainwave Portal
Brief description - The Brainwave Innovation portal is quite central in the policy landscape, it
is advertised directly by the council and is part of the Innovation Week
workshops. It has to be noted that the numbers of members of the
website is relatively low (193).
- The platform is online-based but accompanied by workshops to promote
the initiatives and helps citizens or businesses to use it. It has a
collaborative architecture allowing people to highlight challenges, propose
solutions and discuss them. Funding can be received for promising
projects, illustrating the general business perspective.
- Even is there is a ‘discursive’ or civic aspect in the possibility given to the
users to discuss the solutions the focus is more on the entrepreneurial
engagement and the possibility to spur innovation and hence economic
growth.
Issues
Governance X
Economy X
Infrastructure X
Environment X
Social Sustainability X
(Further comments if Four set of issues are defined, encompassing several sub-issues for each
needed) one.
-Resources (Zero Carbon Energy, Sustainable Water, Sustainable Materials,
Local & Sustainable Food, Zero Waste)
-Infrastructure (Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Transport, Digital
Connectivity, Governance)
-Community (Equity & Local Economy, Health & Well-being, Public Safety,
Skills Development)
-Places (Culture & Heritage, Land Use & Wildlife, Tourism & Leisure)
Even if there is no category ‘Economy’, it is implicit as most of the
initiatives imply making a profit. It also worth mentioning that the
‘Governance’ issue is just a sub-category of ‘Infrastructure’ and not a
general category.

6

Publics mobilised
Types ‘General Public’ / community X
Group(s) X
Individuals X
(Comments if needed) ‘Brainwave Innovations is free, open,
online platform where entrepreneurs,
residents and communities can develop,
share and discuss ideas that help to tackle
city and business challenges in
Peterborough.’
Mode of engagement Entrepreneurial X
Service use
Political
Civic X
(Comments if needed) - The fact that anyone can highlight which
challenges need to be tackle means that
the Brainwave portal is in itself a sort of
civic space or agora where public matters
are brought to.
- At the same time, the possibility to
obtain funding and the rhetoric developed
about ‘innovation’ show that the main
concern is the ability to spur innovation :
‘Brainwave Innovations launched the
Innovation Challenge Fund in March 2014,
urging local businesses to apply to develop
innovative solutions to existing city
challenges.’

Socio-technical ordering
Practices Considering the practices in themselves, they can be sub-categorized as
follows:
- Discussing: every initiatives includes a section ‘comments’ where users
discuss the pros and cons of each initiative. They also have a ‘Group’
section where citizens can discuss with ‘experts in the field’ or just share
their experiences. However, the ‘Group’ section contain just one topic,
with… zero active discussion (!). Citizens are more active in highlighting
challenges that need to be tackled.
- Solving challenges: In the same way, citizens can post solutions, detailing
precisely how it could be implemented. To receive funding, the prospective
applicant must apply to a selection process where they will have to pitch
their idea: ‘The innovation Fund’

Sources / type of data Directed
Automated
Voluntary X
(Comments if needed)
Data engagement Data provision for the purpose X
of information
Opening data to query,
interpretation or mining
7

Generating data
(Comments if needed) The innovation platform does not
specifically engage with data, as all kind of
solutions can be offered. Actually most of
them don’t include data at all. The
interesting thing about this platform is that
it (in theory) allow citizens to organise
horizontally in order to design and develop
policies or services by themselves. It can be
seen as an organising infrastructure, with
digital technology (data) being a facilitator.
Public agency Enacting the Smart City
Defining the Smart City X
Spatiality*
Ubiquitous space of connectivity
Optimising material systems
Manifesting virtual space in material
space
Reclaiming the digital sphere as public

(Comments if needed) What is interesting is that, though mainly a virtual space,
the Innovation Portal has to be supplemented by
workshops. The relatively low level of engagement in the
website might be suggesting that the creation of new
forms of public engagement (or public sphere) need a
physical basis.
URL(s)
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/about/

OpenCity Screen
Brief description - This initiative has begun in 2014 and is not finished yet. It is rather
surprising as it seems to be a relatively quick process to buy a large screen
and design content for it. It can suggest that it is a relatively autonomous
from Peterborough DNA (the project is said to be ‘citizen run’). If it wasn’t,
the smart city body might had stepped in to avoid being accused of
inefficiency. And at the same time Helena Hansen-Fure, project officer for
Peterborough DNA, explains: “Open City is a key part of our work to shape
a smarter, more sustainable city . This initiative is said to be citizen-run but
is composed of members of the City Council, Opportunity Peterborough,
Peterborough DNA, Brainwave and ‘local businesses’

-Building a screen is the city centre is an interesting attempt to make the
digital sphere public. Indeed, most of our online experience is mediated
through private websites (Facebook, Google, Amazon etc.). The screen can
also be seen as an attempt to capture the elusive data flows constituting
8

the smart city.

-It is still not quite clear what the exact purpose of the screen is. Some
people involved in the initiative suggest that it could be used for displaying
real-time traffic flows or serve as a marketing tool for local SME’s. One
member of ‘CreativeContentCompany’ clearly say: The idea behind
OpenCity (…) was to create an interactive digital screen that would help
businesses in Peterborough.’ At the same, time, in a separated interview
Charlotte Palmer from the city council say that will the screen will ‘give
members of the public the option to cast their vote on matters which
affect their local area.’ Suggesting a political mode of engagement.

Issues
Governance X
Economy X
Infrastructure X
Environment
Social Sustainability
(Further comments if There is no clear definition of the issues as it is still not clear what the
needed) screen would be used for, however the mentioned features of the screen
can be classified under three categories:
-Governance: the fact that the citizens could cast their votes using the
screen
-Economy: The focus on the possibility for SMEs to use it as a marketing
tool
-Infrastructure: The display of real-time traffic information could be seen
as a digital tool aiming at increasing the efficiency of the transport
infrastructure by enabling citizens to make more informed choices.

Although presented as a citizen-run or grassroots organisation, it is led by
digital professionals and aims mainly as ‘helping businesses in
Peterborough’ . Hence, the main issue seems to be economical.

Publics mobilised
Group(s) X
Individuals X
(Comments if needed) The Open City is not yet implemented,
hence the different options proposed for
its use are still provisional. Each aims at
different types of public
-serve as marketing tool for local SME’s
(consumers/individuals/SME’s)
-Polling (the general public/community)
-Real time information on transport (public
transport users/ individuals)

Service use X
Political X
Civic
9

(Comments if needed) Even if the definitive features are unclear,
two modes of engagement are proposed:
-Entrepreneurial: businesses are invited to
use the screen as a marketing tool.
-Political: The screen could be used as a
way to ‘give members of the public the
option to cast their vote on matters which
affect their local area’. However, it worth
mentioning that it is just briefly mentioned
in a separate interview.
-Service use: real-time information on
transport

Practices As highlighted earlier: the definitive features are not clear but several
practices can be distinguished:
-Casting votes or polling citizens
-Use the screen as a marketing tool for local SME's
-Provide real time information on transport
Automated X
Voluntary X
(Comments if needed) The provision of traffic information would
be ‘automated data’ and the casting of
votes ‘voluntary data’

of information
Generating data X
(Comments if needed) It would be mainly ‘data provision for the
purpose of information’, however, the vote
casting and polling could be seen as a way
of generating data.
Public agency Enacting the Smart City X
(Comments if needed) The screen in itself is a routinized part of
the Smart City. But the process of creating
it is the enactment of the Smart City
(workshops, Hackathon)
Spatiality*
Manifesting virtual space in material X
space
Reclaiming the digital sphere as public X
(Comments if needed) The screen could be seen as ‘the’ interface with the data
flows constituting the Smart City. Taking the form of a 32”
screen, it will interact with all the passers-by. It will a
permanent and fixed form of the elusive instantaneity of
10

big data flows. The shift from the individual and private
screen of a smartphone to a one larger screen displaying
information for everyone can be seen as a process of
‘publicization’. By making visible to everyone certain
information, manifesting virtual space in material space, it
constitutes a part of the public sphere. It could be argued
that social media is already part of the public sphere, but
the fact that a city council integrate it in a public screen
means that the recognize the value of it as an agora,
reclaiming it as public.
URL(s)
http://opencity.io/opencity-screen.html

Hackathon
Brief description Even if presented as a ‘grassroots, volunteer-led project in the OpenCity
website’ one of the participants present the initiative as businesses teaming
up with members of Peterborough Council, including Opportunity
Peterborough, Environmental Capital team and Peterborough DNA &
Brainwave; ‘to help local businesses’
The event consists in a 24h gathering of digital professionals to design the
content of the OpenCity screen.
The key mode of engagement here is an entrepreneurial one and the
coproduction of publics services.

Issues
Governance X
Economy X
Infrastructure X
Environment
(Further comments if There is no clear definition of the issues as it is still not clear what the
needed) screen would be used for, however the mentioned features of the screen
can be classified under three categories:
-Governance: the fact that the citizens could cast their votes using the
screen
-Economy: The focus on the possibility for SMEs to use it as a marketing
tool
-Infrastructure: The display of real-time traffic information could be seen
as a digital tool aiming at increasing the efficiency of the transport
infrastructure by enabling citizens to make more informed choices.
Although presented as a citizen-run or grassroots organisation, it is led by
digital professionals and aims mainly as ‘helping businesses in
Peterborough’
11


Publics mobilised
Group(s) X
Individuals X
(Comments if needed) - The Hackathon targets ‘the creative class’
of Peterborough. It is not the average
citizen but people with digital skills, mostly
professionals, as a group and as
individuals.
- ‘Feedback on what the interactive screen
should feature has already been gathered
from local people, businesses and heritage
and arts organisations’, so, a sort of
consultative process has been held,
gathering opinions from, among others,
the general public.

Service use X
Political
Civic X
(Comments if needed) The aim is to create content for the screen
and the participation in Hackathon seems
to be limited to that entrepreneurial
aspect. It is also a form of co-production of
public services.

However, feedback from diverse
organisation and the general public as
been gathered, which is a civic
engagement.

Practices Tech savvy individuals are gathered (around 20 participants) to design
collectively contents for the Open City screen. Participant collaborate in
the production of a service in only 24 hours. The fact that two years later
there is no evidence that the screen has been implemented suggest that
this kinds of events don’t necessarily lead to lasting changes. The
Hackathon is a form of co-production of public services. But, Even if no
funding is offered to the winning team and participation is on a volunteer
basis, it is closer to a professional event where participants can promote
their activity.
Automated X
Voluntary X
Data engagement Data provision for the purpose
of information
Opening data to query, X
12

Generating data
Public agency Enacting the Smart City
Spatiality*
space
(Comments if needed) Does the evanescence of this type of initiative (24h) enable
the creation of a real public space? Does a public space
need recurrence to be considered as such? This might be
why the Hackathon is integrated into the ‘Innovation
Week’, a week long event punctuated by several
workshops.
URL(s)
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/peterborough-innovation-week/
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/hackathon-peterborough-s-digital-heroes-
joining-forces-for-a-smarter-city-1-6417948

Urban Observatory
Brief description This initiative is part of the Living Data programme. This tool give its users the
opportunity to compare data between different cities in the world on various
themes including: road speed, noise watch or population density. This is not a
central part of the policy landscape
The initiative consists in the creation of a profile in a website presenting city
data in a user-friendly way. The aim of the portal is to enable comparison
between cities on key indicators
The initiatives target the general public.
Issues
Governance X
Economy
Infrastructure
Environment
(Further comments if There is no specific issue defined. The website just says ‘The Urban
needed) Observatory is an interactive digital platform that gives users the
opportunity to compare and contrast maps of cities around the world.’ But
it can be broadly defined as a civic tool enabling citizen to be better
informed, as the website first sentence highlights: 'Understanding
precedes actions'.
Publics mobilised
Group(s)
13

Individuals X
(Comments if needed) The project is aimed at everyone who
would like to compare city data, but is used
individually.
Mode of engagement Entrepreneurial
Service use
Political
Civic
Practices The type of practice being enacted. Content may include: How many members of
the public participate? Is participation interactive? Is it temporary or more
permanent? What is the link to decision-making (e.g. constitutive, consultative,
formal/informal)?
Automated X
Voluntary
of information
Opening data to query, X
Generating data
(Comments if needed) Underpinning this initiative is the general
Open Data agenda : opening data is
supposed to bring economic benefits and
innovation but also accountability and
transparency. However, it is not clear how
this could be achieved with this initiative.
Defining the Smart City
Spatiality*
space

(Comments if needed) The website is an entirely virtual space but the data is
displayed on maps, making the data intuitively
understandable. Virtual maps are a powerful tool to create
a quick understanding of data. To what extent virtual maps
are a form of public space?
URL(s)
http://www.peterboroughdna.com/urban-observatory/

14

Innovation Week
Brief description The innovation week is composed of several different workshops with
different objectives:
- ‘Become an Environment Super Hero’ (environmental behavioural change,
awareness campaign for youngsters)
- ‘We’re looking for young people with bright ideas – are you up to the
challenge?’/‘Help Peterborough’s young talent make our city a better place for
the future’ (innovation challenge for developing business-led ideas to solve
city’s problem’s, for youngsters)
- ‘Brainwave Innovation Workshop’ (Creativity development workshop, part of
the Brainwave Challenge Fund, innovation challenge for developing business-
led ideas to solve city’s problem’s)
- ‘Open City Hackathon’ (not included in this analysis, see supra.)

These event can be classified in two sub-categories: innovation challenges and
awareness programmes.
-Innovation challenges gather individuals and make them compete for the
most innovative business-led idea to tackle the city challenges. It includes the
opportunity to secure funding for implementing the idea.
-The environmental awareness workshops are a more traditional form of
engagement, which are not specifically ‘smart’.

- Apart from the classical ‘environmental awareness’ workshops which are a
form to ‘civic’ engagement. The innovation workshops are a form of
‘entrepreneurial’ engagement.

Issues
Governance
Economy X
Infrastructure
Environment X
(Further comments if -Environment: The awareness programmes are strongly related to the
needed) issue of environment.
-Economy: The innovation challenges to tackle specific issues, but their
common trait is their business-lead approach, hence we can say that
Economy is the most prominent issue.

Publics mobilised
Group(s) X
Individuals X
(Comments if needed) The awareness programmes are aiming the
‘general public’ and/or youngsters.
For the innovation challenges : one aims at
youngster specifically and the other, the
Brainwave Innovation Workshop aims at
entrepreneurs as a £20,000 can be
secured.

Service use
15

Political
Civic X
(Comments if needed) Awareness programmes are a form of civic
engagement
Innovation challenges are entrepreneurial
engagement.

Practices - The environmental workshops consist of traditional talks and engaging activities.

- The innovation workshop aiming at children is two-folded. On a first day they
develop business-lead ideas with help from experts. On the second day the pitch it
in front a ‘Dragons Den’ style audience. All participants pay for food and the
profits of the night go to the winning team.

-The Brainwave innovation workshops aims at teaching creativity skills thanks to
theoretical insights and practical exercises. Participants then apply the creativity
skills learned to the city challenges. They are then briefed on how to apply to the
Innovation Fund competition.

Automated
Voluntary X
Data engagement Data provision for the purpose
of information
Generating data X
(Comments if needed) These initiatives do not necessarily deal
with data as such. Or data considered as a
broad term encompassing innovative ideas.
(Comments if needed) The environmental workshops can be
considered as enacting the smart city and
the innovation workshops as defining it
(the smart city will depend on what
solutions are developed)
Spatiality*
space

(Comments if needed) The fact that they group different workshops aiming at
different audiences (youngsters, entrepreneurs) is a way
for each initiative to gain visibility, attracting more
different people to each event and hence strengthening
the publicness of the space.
URL(s)
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/peterborough-innovation-week/
16

Analytical Discussion

What is striking in the case of Peterborough is that that despite being awarded £3 million
pounds from the TSB, and having planned promising projects, not much had been achieved
concerning citizen engagement. The living data strands is limited to weather stations in
schools and a profile in the urban observatory website (created by MSc students). The
OpenCity screen project, and the Hackathon conducted to design its content, seems not to
have resulted in anything yet, despite being launched in 2014. Which leaves only the
Brainwave Portal as a concrete (entrepreneurially oriented) initiative having been
implemented. This contrast with the rhetoric about citizen engagement: ‘In today’s society a
smart city must be a democratic city’ ; ‘Citizens play a pivotal role within the development
of the smart city, and in no city is this clearer than Peterborough. We set out to tackle the
issues that matter most to our residents, which means citizen inclusion and consultation
every step of the way.’1

Considering the public engagement, the dominant entrepreneurial approach is consistent
with the economical normative focus of the feasibility study (c.f. opening sentence: 'Growth,
innovation, sustainability, and delivery are all in the DNA of Peterborough'). However, the
democratic rhetoric would have prompted us to except a more political mode of
engagement. Despite the fact that polling is envisaged as one of the possible features of the
planned OpenCity screen, the second dominant mode of engagement is civic : through the
brainwave portal, the innovation week and the brainstorming sessions of the OpenCity
screen citizens are invited to provide innovative ideas. They participate in the co-production
of public services. Citizens are framed as a reservoir of collective intelligence city authorities
can tap into. The Urban Observatory also draws on this conception of civic engagement,
where data visualisation enable citizens to make more informed choices.

Peterborough's history as a new town may be influencing the narrative of the policy: the
focus on achieving sustainable growth through innovation echo with the tradition of the city
to seek to attract new businesses to the city. Situated in the outskirt of London, its
economic development strategy is to attract companies from London, offering a better
quality of life to the employees and a striving business environment for less money than in
London. The focus on entrepreneurial engagement fits in the broader narrative of the city as
a new town. Moreover, as a medium-sized town, the focus is more on small-scale practical
initiatives than large infrastructure investment. It must also be noted that the city's
ambition to become the 'Environmental Capital of the UK' plays an important part in the
focus on achieving green growth.

To sum up, Peterborough could be thought of as the standard smart city : mainly
economically-oriented despite a democratic rhetoric, focusing on entrepreneurial
engagement, implementing typical smart city initiatives (Hackathon) and leaving aside
political agency.

1
‘Smart Cities Europe | Q&A with Charlotte Palmer, Climate Change Manager, Peterborough
City Council’ <http://smarttofuture.com/qa-with-charlotte-palmer-climate-change-
manager-peterborough-city-council/> [accessed 13 January 2016].
17


Image(s)

(I am not sure if these images are copyright-free, but I found no suitable images while using
the Google search for copyright-free images)

Date
• 5 May 2016

18

References

Peterborough City Council (2012). Feasibility Study Online:
https://connect.innovateuk.org/documents/3130726/3794125/Feasibility+Study+-
+Peterborough+City+Council.pdf/65e92af1-445f-454d-87b6-fce0a8c2cfb8 (accessed
5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA (2014). Delivering a truly smart city Online:
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/upload/cmspage/peterborough-dna/10-
09-14_11-58-35_peterborough_dna_online.pdf (accessed 5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA. Website. Online: http://www.peterboroughdna.com/about-us/
(accessed 5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA . Brainwave Portal. Online:
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/about/ (accessed 5 May 2016).

Peterborough Today, Hackathon: Peterborough’s ‘digital heroes’ joining forces for a
smarter city. Online : http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/hackathon-
peterborough-s-digital-heroes-joining-forces-for-a-smarter-city-1-
6417948#ixzz47mAdUtMd (accessed 5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA. OpenCity screen. Online: http://opencity.io/opencity-
screen.html (accessed 5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA. Innovation Week. (2014). Online:
http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/peterborough-innovation-week/ (accessed
5 May 2016).

Peterborough DNA (2015). Urban Observatory. Online:
http://www.peterboroughdna.com/urban-observatory/ (accessed 5 May 2016).

19

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The Smart City and Its Publics

The Smart City and Its Publics – Primary Research Material.

This data repository contains primary research data generated in

Original article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2017.1293150

List of available documents

- Peterborough Policy Landscape

- The smart city and its publics case study of Peterborough

Innovation Week Urban

B.1 Peterborough DNA Peterborough City Council/ 2013 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/about-us/

C.1 Brainwave Portal Peterborough DNA/ 2014 http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/about/

C.3 Hackathon Open City Screen/ 2014 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/peterborough-innovation-week-/

C.4 Innovation Week Peterborough DNA 2014 http://www.brainwaveinnovations.co.uk/peterborough-innovation-

C.5 Urban Observatory Peterborough DNA 2015 http://www.peterboroughdna.com/urban-observatory/

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