Ctrl + Shift + Reporting: Navigating the Data-Driven Cityscape

In the digital era, data has become the lifeblood of smart cities, driving innovation and reshaping urban governance. As data emerges as a crucial element in political and administrative decision-making, its significant impact on modern urban governance becomes increasingly important to understand. This paper thus examines the instrumental role of data in urban governance, particularly through urban crowdsourcing, which aims to harness the collective intelligence of the "crowd" to address urban challenges. Specifically, this study investigates digital fault reporting platforms as a prominent form of urban crowdsourcing globally. These platforms enable citizens to report issues related to urban infrastructure, services, or public spaces to the concerned municipal authorities. The central research question explores the governance of public spaces in the context of such data becoming vital in urban infrastructure management. A comparative case study is conducted on the implementation and use of digital fault reporting platforms in four Western European cities: FixMyStreet in Bristol (UK), Zuri Wie Neu in Zurich (Switzerland), Nantes dans ma Poche in Nantes (France), and Felanmalan in Malmo (Sweden). Utilizing the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this research uncovers the sociotechnical networks influencing the development and impact of these platforms in these four middle-sized municipalities. By examining the concept of 'translation' surrounding digital fault reporting platforms, in the sense of how actors (both human and non-human) interact, negotiate, and align their interests to form networks, the study aims to reveal the -often invisible- politics of urban data shaping the governance of modern cities. The findings depict a complex governance landscape where citizens have become integral part of the management of urban spaces, whether as political dissenters or as external collaborators. The integration of reporting data into urban management is a double-edged sword: it represents a valuable resource for municipalities to enhance their public image, yet also a platform that also an open door to criticisms. This data-driven turn in urban administration thus does not necessarily depoliticize issues of urban maintenance and public space management. Instead, it introduces new layers of conflict and politicization, simultaneously fostering mixed feelings of resentment and empathy among citizens towards both municipal administrations and local elected officials. Finally, the hybrid nature of digital fault reporting platforms at the crossroad between an asset management system and a customer relationship management tool compels municipalities to adapt their administrative and political structures to manage the influx of crowdsourced data. This often positions them reactively to civic reports, hinting at the potential development of new forms of public space governance. It points towards a governance model where the geography of public intervention is likely to be significantly influenced by the intervention of the most engaged users on those platforms, and marked by a gradual replacement of civil engineers with communication experts, best suited to swiftly respond to civic reports.