EU Green Capital Valencia will host 2024 edition of European Urban Resilience Forum
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
Modern traffic lights do more than regulate the flow of vehicles at crossroads, they also collect enormous amounts of data
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP), an independent regulator authority in the Low Country, has appealed to the infrastructure ministry to do something about the growing legislative grey area of having traffic lights that collect traffic data and potentially infringe on the privacy of all road users.
This is the second time that the authority has urged the ministry in question to do something about an issue that has gone under the radar, so to speak. The agency first warned the ministry in 2021 to check whether data-collecting traffic lights are in line with privacy legislation and to ensure everyone using the data collected by them is aware of the implications.
The controversial issue is indicative of a range of growing problems with the ever-increasing use of smart and data-collection technologies in our contemporary society.
These modern traffic lights connect to the mobile phones of road users and follow them to gather information about traffic volume and speed.
But the traffic lights also collect personal information about motorists, enabling them, for example, to follow a complete route including date, time and the speed the car is travelling.
Thus, these processes make it possible and easy for local councils and the transport ministry’s roads departments to track and follow specific users wherever they go, if said authorities wish to do it.
The road authorities do not appear to have properly considered the privacy risks of these traffic lights. It is also not always clear with whom exactly the data is shared, or who is responsible for collecting and using the data.
According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), these matters must always be clear before data collection begins.
This, however, is likely to change soon
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
The island is dead set on doing something about the problem of overtourism
This is city twinning for the 21st century
You can find it in the capital Sofia, where it was installed upon the initiative of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
People in both cities got to sit together both in person and virtually
An illegal landfill will turn into a parking lot for cars confiscated by the police
It also features fast-charging stations for e-buses
Crucial aspects of resilience, sustainable development and recovery will be under the thematic spotlight
A US geologist claims to have solved the centuries-old mystery
This is the day when all madrileños take local pride in their city and culture
And the results were immediate, two Sunday services had to be performed to accommodate the crowd
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
Catch up with some recommendations for the 2024 European Capital of Culture programme from the mayor of Tartu
An interview with the ICLEI regional director for Europe аfter the close of COP28
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team