Promoting Facilities Use

Encouraging and facilitating the use of public recreational spaces is no less important than providing these spaces in the first place.

Smart Engagement – Municipalities can create websites and smart phone apps to increase public awareness of nearby parks and recreational facilities: e.g. online booking, trail maps of suggested exercise routes, lists of nearby community programs and play structures/splash pads, etc

Digi-scaping Public Parks and Recreational Facilities – Municipalities can make public recreational areas technology friendly and thereby attract a greater range and diversity of visitors.

Technologies

Website – Municipalities can create websites to present information, facilitate online bookings and program enrolment, encourage feedback, etc…

Smart Phone Apps – Municipalities can create apps that, e.g., allow users to book sporting venues or rooms, choose from among several suggested running routes, view information about youth sports leagues and civic organizations, report unsafe activity or damaged equipment, etc…

Interactive play structures – Game-based interactive structures with customizable software offer different entertainment solutions for children based on language, culture and ability.

Outdoor DJ Booths – Outdoor DJ booths amplify and manipulate pre-loaded music from mobile phones.

Green Exercise Machines – Energy-generating exercise equipment that charges cellphones provides users with free access to physical activity.

Wifi – Municipalities can create free, public Wi-Fi hotspots anywhere in parks by installing a central hub, or modem and router, and a system of Wireless access points. Digital signs – Digital signs, such as LED screens or LED transparent film applied to glass surfaces, can display images, text and videos and can be updated in real time.

Smart Water Fountains – Smart water fountains can be outfitted to include: solar panels to chill or condense water from the atmosphere, filters to remove contaminants, speakers to engage visitors, and sensors to monitor water quality and alert staff when maintenance is needed.

Managing Liability Issues

⚠️ The presence of children in public parks and recreational spaces make the liability issues in these areas especially fraught, particularly with respect to privacy and security.

Privacy

Issues.

⚠️ Tracking and sensing technologies create privacy issues when they collect personal information. The legal definition of “personal information” includes information about an identifiable individual even if the individual is not directly identified (so long as one might later identify the individual by, for example, cross-referencing unique fields like customer numbers). Thus, tracking and sensing technologies create privacy issues when they record recognizable images of individuals or record routes traceable to individuals.

Managing Issues.

✅ Count, don’t track. Record numbers and direction instead of tracing routes that can be associated with individuals.

✅ Choose the technology appropriate to the task. Low-tech solutions may be able to provide the data needed but without the privacy issues that cameras introduce.

✅ Data-fuzzing. Employ data-fuzzing techniques to preserve privacy. For example, do not include start and end points in route data so that a particular route cannot be traced to an individual. Similarly, fuzzing data of sensitive areas provides an additional layer of security for personal information.

✅ De-identify at the source. Many camera technologies allow for faces to be blurred at collection.

✅ De-identify as soon as possible. If personal information absolutely must be collected, it should be stripped away as soon as possible.

✅ Limit data collection to only that which is needed. Collection strategies such as bicycle numbers and heat maps rather than individual-specific routes avoid engaging more serious privacy concerns.

✅ Ensure that partners or contractors follow collection restrictions. When purchasing data from private companies, ensure that they are upholding their own privacy obligations under relevant legislation.

✅ Follow good privacy practices.

Security Issues

Issues.

⚠️ The privacy issues inherent to tracking technologies include security issues, as data that does not initially identify individuals can do so in combination with other data. The presence of large numbers of children in these areas make these issues especially sensitive. If apps or websites for booking facilities accept payment, such payment should be processed securely.

Managing Issues.

✅ Many of the same solutions to privacy issues will address security issues: e.g., de-identify at source if possible, or as soon as possible if otherwise. Where personal information is collected, it should be held in a secure location.

✅ Access to personal information should be limited to those with a need to use the information.

✅ Numerous options for secure online payment are available.

✅ Follow good security practices.

Procurement Issues

Issues.

⚠️ Technology acquisitions often implicate long term commitment to a specific vendor. This creates a danger that a municipality, having committed itself to a particular vendor through a competitive and transparent procurement process, is now at the mercy of the vendor for follow-on services and products.

Managing Issues.

✅ Awareness. Municipalities need to be aware that taxpayer funds are vulnerable not only through the technology selection process, but also throughout the life cycle of the technology. Short term savings often come with outsize long term costs.

✅ Employ sound procurement practices.