People, Frogs and Data – It’s not just tech that makes a city smart

‘Smart city’ programmes are often developed and driven by the few and don’t always take into account the majority of people who live, work and collaboratively make the city. The Bristol Approach to Citizen Sensing is a new way of working that puts communities at the heart of innovation, ensuring that new technologies are developed to meet people’s needs and tackle the issues they care about, rather than being imposed on them by ‘big tech’ companies in a ‘top-down’ process. The approach enables the development of a ‘city commons’, where resources, tools, expertise and technologies are shared and used for the common good.