Page 50 - U4SSC Blockchain for smart sustainable cities

This use-case involves multiple actors. There Additionally, there is no need to implement a
is no trust relationship between the city of contractual relationship along with the necessity
Barcelona and its users. As in any participatory to store sensitive data. This project is also
voting system, the users are not known. There is relevant for improving social sustainability.
no need to centralize the control of the system The pilot project took place in the context
at the city of Barcelona or any other entity. It of a large, funded, collaborative consortium,
is essential for the voting system to remove engaging with other partners to address growing
the intermediaries. The permanent record is privacy concerns. The project benefitted from
necessary for verification purposes. However, engaged individuals who committed their time
there is no need to keep the non-transactional and energy to the process.
record of the information. It is essential to
share the writing access with all the users. In
this context, there is no information related to:
(a) the necessity to work with digital assets or (b)
highlight the importance of high-performance
systems to validate the transaction.

Lessons learned and conclusions

• Distributed ledgers (blockchain) can be used to make public voting (petitions) systems that are
auditable, fast and secure.
• Such systems allow users to choose which of their personal data they wish to withhold and which
they would like to share, in order to allow platform managers to understand their user base.
• Users have been able to understand and use the petition (voting) system, without having technical
expertise.
• The process is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant according to the data protec-
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tion authority at the city council of Barcelona.
• There has been a shift in perspective towards the need to better understand how technology
relates to power, ownership, agency and privacy.
• Based on the assessment of the project properties, blockchain technology seems to be partially
suitable.
• In the assessment of the project properties, blockchain technology seems to be partially suitable.

It does not apply to the processing of personal data of deceased persons or of legal persons. The rules
do not apply to data processed by an individual for purely personal reasons or for activities carried out
at home, provided there is no connection to a professional or commercial activity. When an individual
uses personal data outside the personal sphere, for socio-cultural or financial activities, for example,
then the data protection law has to be respected (European Commission, 2020).

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c Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council1, the European Union’s ('EU') new General Data Protection Regulation
(‘GDPR’), regulates the processing by an individual, a company or an organization of personal data relating to individuals in the EU.

40 U4SSC: Blockchain for smart sustainable cities