Abstract
In this chapter I examine the rise of smart and algorithmic technologies and what this means for understandings and experiences of homelessness. The concept of ‘the data–connectivity exchange’ is introduced and explained with reference to the asymmetries of datafication at the point of connection to digital services. This is applied to the case of LinkNYC to consider the potential for homeless and marginalised groups to be exposed to new data risks and harms through their use of ‘free’ Wi-Fi and other connectivity services. I then examine examples of algorithmic systems introduced by national governments to recover overpayments to welfare recipients using automated data-matching. The chapter makes the argument that with the rise of smart cities and algorithmic governance, social and spatial inequalities become further embedded into the logics and infrastructures of cities and states and are another means through which people experiencing homelessness can be policed and punished.
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Notes
- 1.
A meta-literature review of the mobile phone sensing field published in 2010 by Lane et al. in the IEEE Communications Magazine was found to have 2892 citations at the time of writing.
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Humphry, J. (2022). Policing Homelessness: Smart Cities and Algorithmic Governance. In: Homelessness and Mobile Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3838-2_6
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