Using tech and data for the benefit of those in the capital

Eddie Copeland, director at the London Office of Technology and Innovation, explains how London boroughs have used data to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and how smart city technologies are creating new opportunities to tackle age-old problems

Large global cities like London are challenging to run and manage even in the best of times. There’s always pressure on housing, transport and schools. Issues like homelessness are felt acutely where costs are high. Congestion leads to air pollution - both an inevitable result of population density.

It’s fair to say that, with Covid, the last two years have been far from the best of times, creating even greater challenges for residents and the public sector organisations that serve them. Now more than ever, it’s essential that city authorities have all the best tools available at their disposal.

Technology and data represent two very powerful sets of tools and methods. In this article, I’d like to outline some of the ways in which they have proved - and continue to prove - vital in London, where the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) aims to bring the best of digital and data innovation to improve public services in the capital.

Innovating in response to Covid
The first step to delivering effective public services is to understand the nature of the problems that face residents. During the first Covid lockdowns, we saw boroughs making use of a wide variety of different datasets they held about their residents to rapidly identify which households might be most vulnerable. For example, spotting a family that receives benefits and has children who rely on free school meals may well point to where additional support is required. By building up this picture, boroughs were able to contact families to check what extra help they needed. In Hammersmith and Fulham, this data work was combined with using AI-assisted automated call technology to reach thousands of residents over a single weekend.

Later in the pandemic, boroughs were keen to understand how well their high streets were recovering. Relying on traditional government economic statistics was of little use; boroughs needed to know what was going on week by week. In response, the Greater London Authority helped boroughs access datasets from companies such as MasterCard, O2 and Strava, which were able to provide much more granular and current information on economic activity and footfall. Making use of these kinds of corporate datasets has now been formalised with the creation of the Highstreets Data Partnership. And given the importance of balancing economic recovery with maintaining social distancing in public spaces, some boroughs made use of machine learning tools to analyse their CCTV footage to provide a count of how many people were in given areas, and whether further action was needed to support residents to keep a safe distance.

It’s not just local authorities that exist to serve London’s residents. Voluntary and charity (VCS) organisations play a huge role, often supporting some of the city’s most vulnerable people. In light of the Covid experience, we saw how vital it is that they can work hand-in-glove with local authorities. With funding from DHLUC (then MHCLG), LOTI worked with Camden and Central Bedfordshire councils on a project to see how data could be more effectively shared between councils and their local VCS colleagues so that they could share intelligence on the level of need and provision in each area. An offshoot of this has been Camden’s work with the VCS to collaborate on data to support the Camden Food Mission, which aims to ensure that by 2030 everyone in Camden eats well every day with nutritious, affordable, sustainable food.

Creating a smarter London
So far we’ve looked at how councils have adapted their existing public services using data and technology. Another interesting development has been in the use of so-called ‘smart city’ technologies, which are creating new opportunities.

The world of smart cities is typically framed around the use of internet-of-things (IoT) technologies in public places. This includes areas like high streets and parks, or in publicly owned buildings, such as social housing. Common examples include smart lamp posts that measure air pollution, moisture sensors that check for damp conditions in buildings, and smart river sensors that monitor and help predict when flooding may occur.

London boroughs are increasingly making good use of such tools. Westminster recently launched an Innovation Challenge to get residents directly involved in shaping their smart city approach. Areas under consideration in the borough include using technology to give residents a greater voice in their communities and tackling food waste, encouraging more sustainable travel and supporting biodiversity. Meanwhile, the South London Partnership (made up of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton) has been running Innovate, a programme to use IoT technologies to ‘obtain new data insights using internet-connected sensors, with minimal human intervention to support and drive economic growth across the sub-region’. One specific example is their work in Sutton to install cutting-edge sensors to tackle future flooding in the borough. Surface water from heavy rainfall has previously damaged homes and businesses and disrupted transport, causing misery for thousands, including some of the area’s most vulnerable residents. Sensors allow early warning and point to where more preventative measures are needed.

LOTI has been supporting boroughs working on smart city projects by helping them think through their key principles. We believe it’s crucial that smart city projects are driven by achieving outcomes that meet the needs of citizens, not the desire to use a specific technology. There are far too many examples of global cities seemingly using flashy new technology for its own sake. Projects must be conducted openly, transparently and ethically to be worthy of public trust. With cyber attacks on boroughs growing, smart city installations must be secure by design. Finally, it’s important that the systems and data used in any one part of London are interoperable with those used in other parts. If every borough works in isolation, there’s a real risk we end up with 33 different flooding, population and congestions maps, for which no Londoner would thank us!  

Tech is not yet for all
Before I conclude, it’s important to remind ourselves that data and technology don’t benefit all Londoners equally. Many continue to be digitally excluded, lacking a device, connectivity, skills or the support they need to get online. Digital exclusion has always been an issue, but as a result of Covid, it’s more acute than ever. Being online is now all but essential to engage in work, education, socialising and shopping.

LOTI has received £1.3 million from the Greater London Authority to launch the Digital Inclusion Innovation Programme. Through this programme, we’re working to develop better methods to understand who is digitally excluded and in what ways, and design better initiatives that help. Our latest projects have included using data to map where digital exclusion is taking place, exploring how to tackle digital exclusion for those living in London’s temporary accommodation hostels, and making it easier to get second-hand devices into the hands of those who most need them.

A tech and data-enabled future
London, and indeed all major cities, will continue to face a wide range of challenges over the coming years. A key lesson from the Covid experience has surely been that we need to be ready for the unexpected. Mastering the way we use technology and data to respond to resident needs would be a great place to start.

@EddieACopeland