Initiatives such as the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights support digital rights in the urban context through city action, resolving common digital challenges at the local level and working towards legal, ethical, and operational frameworks to advance human rights in digital environments.

However, as set out in the Eurocities statement ‘A people-centred digital transformation starts in cities,’ an EU Digital Rights Governance Framework is needed to ensure the preservation of fundamental human rights in the digital sphere.

Based on the governance framework further elaborated by the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, it should not only restate rights such as privacy and access to information but also propose concrete steps to implement and safeguard these rights within cities. This necessitates combatting online threats and ensuring safety online, aligning with the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade.

At the local level, cities are introducing Digital Rights programmes to navigate the challenges of digitalisation while safeguarding people’s rights. Such is the case of the City of Brussels, which has introduced a Digital Rights Charter encompassing commitments and actions addressing digital inclusion, accessibility, education, ethics, and privacy.

Organised into five chapters, it focuses on promoting equality in digital access, transparency in administrative services, citizen engagement, privacy protection, and sustainability through initiatives like refurbished hardware. Examples include recruiting teachers for digital education, supporting people with disabilities, ensuring flexible access to services, promoting citizen engagement tools, implementing guidelines for responsible digital use, and adopting sustainable procurement practices.

Leipzig has designed a to empower citizens to participate in the digital world, improving access and engagement. Their goal is to expand and enhance digital involvement in local democracy, ranging from submitting petitions to participating in city council meetings live online. To support this, Leipzig is setting up digital platforms and specific digital services, such as a digital art and culture platform and the ‘Open Library’ project with extended opening hours. The municipality is also digitalising 75 services, including finding kindergarten placements, or ordering certificates.

When designing their digital services, cities need to put residents at the centre of the process. Manchester has initiated the ‘People Panel for AI’ project to involve various community members in discussions about technology. In a series of open community roadshows, subject matter experts will provide the education and training needed to understand recent advances in AI and delve into the ethical issues surrounding its use. The workshops will provide practical, accessible routes for residents to learn about digital, and will empower communities to lead the development of digital solutions to local challenges. The aim is to ensure that AI in public service is informed by people’s experiences, reducing bias and promoting socially conscious innovation.

Vienna, meanwhile, is focussing on the concept of digital humanism, taking a conscious approach to its technological developments, as well as those technologies they procure. The city aims to share in the development of alternatives that put a humanistic world view first, instead of primarily economic or other commercial interests.

The first step towards closing the disparities brought by digital innovation is to understand them, who they are affecting the most, and how this is happening. To better understand how to effectively tackle digital inequalities, Bordeaux Metropole launched last year an Observatory on Digital Inequalities. The metropole surveyed about 5,000 people, asking about the connectivity, use, and ease of their digital equipment.

Almost 20% of respondents said that digitalisation makes their lives more complicated, with up to one quarter encountering challenges in accessing public services, and almost half of the population surveyed worried they could not recognise fake information.

Despite the efforts of the European Union to achieve the Digital Decade 2030 targets, one third of Europeans still lack basic digital skills, and up to 80% struggle with digital technologies at different levels.

While the digital divide affects all layers of the population, it is a complex issue that is exacerbated by the interplay with other existing disparities. Some vulnerable groups are at higher risk of landing on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Indeed, as demonstrated in the results of the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, one in four mayors cited digital transformation as a top area for focus in the next EU budget, with a particular emphasis for mayors being on inclusivity.

Gothenburg is one of the cities implementing several digital inclusion projects aimed at providing digital skills targeted to the specific needs of different population groups, such as newcomers, older people or vulnerable neighbourhoods.

Glasgow distributed tablets to school pupils, to ensure all children have access to a digital device regardless of their socio-economic conditions. The students then took the tablets home, and, in many cases, are now teaching their parents and family members how to use them, producing an unexpected, positive cascade effect that was not initially an explicit goal of the programme.

Another example is Rotterdam‘s grassroots initiative Tea-Time. Inspired by the concept of ‘Tupperware parties,’ migrant women get together in a neighbour’s house, drink tea, and help each other with their digital endeavours – for example, making a doctor’s appointment, or opening a bank account.

Digital helpers today have all types of backgrounds: from frontline city staff assisting residents in accessing digital services, and volunteers in non-profit organisations, to grandchildren teaching their grandparents how to videocall. And cities are taking different approaches to support them. Recognising who they are, and what questions they have can help municipalities empower digital helpers, equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need to help community members.

Such is the case of Ghent. The city tracked the digital questions that were asked to their front-line city officers. In 2023 alone, they received 16,575 queries, which were answered by volunteers and social workers. When examining who is posing questions and how, the Belgian city realised digital queries are getting more and more complex. Cities must support and empower their digital helpers so they can help their residents.

According to the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey, data-driven policymaking is increasingly gaining traction among city leaders innovation strategies, with 72% of mayors surveyed recognising its potential benefits. As cities are inundated with ever-growing volumes of data, innovative approaches to harnessing this resource become imperative. This wealth of data empowers local leaders to make informed decisions, shaping strategic directions and facilitating responsive and anticipatory governance.

In Bologna, for instance, the city utilises its data to feed into a digital twin—a work-in-progress 3D replica of the urban landscape encompassing various urban processes. This innovative approach will enable the city to gain a bird’s-eye view of local data, enhancing transparency and fostering opportunities for innovation among local organisations and businesses.

Mayors also recognise the potential of data-driven insights to inform the human-centred design of public services and policy interventions.

In Donostia – San Sebastian, the SmartKalea project exemplifies this approach by engaging local shops, technology firms, and residents in the development of a smart and sustainable urban environment. Real-time data provided to local shopkeepers, coupled with its integration into the SmartKalea website, enhances business operations and transparency, empowering locals through innovation and access to information.

Digital solutions have huge potential to help address pressing challenges such as climate change, urban mobility, or demographic shifts. However, the integration of complex technology, such as local data platforms or digital twins, requires substantial investments and concerted efforts.

Initiatives like Living-in.EU provide the space to share solutions and learn from past experiences but also highlights the need for continual funding, technical support, and high-level political endorsement.

Cities are already sharing solutions and open-source technology. Sofia, for example, has used CityGML, an open-source 3D city modelling format that enables the representation, storage and exchange of virtual 3D city models, to build their Local Digital Twin. Amsterdam and Utrecht have jointly developed a 3D platform that is now available for other municipalities to replicate.

To support cities’ collaboration and sharing of resources and infrastructure, the European Commission has announced the Networked Local Digital Twins towards the CitiVERSE EDIC, a legal framework to support and implement multi-country projects. The CitiVERSE EDIC aims to connect existing local digital twins across Europe, forming the basis for the EU CitiVERSE. It will allow members to use digital infrastructure regardless of where in the EU it was created. This approach will help make sure that data and services can work together smoothly and follow common rules, which helps to prevent Europe from being digitally fragmented.

Increasing ambition and investments in data sharing are crucial to unlock the potential of digital technologies such as local digital twins. In recent years, there has been significant progress in this area with the introduction of key legislation such as the Data Governance Act, the Data Act, and the Interoperable Europe Act. These legal frameworks have laid the groundwork for facilitating and accelerating data sharing across Europe.

In Helsinki, for example, the ‘MyData’ operator system uses consent management mechanisms to enable users to share data in the context of a specific service and for a clear purpose.

However, there is still much to be done, particularly concerning data sharing between businesses and governments. City governments require more comprehensive support and access to data beyond a limited number of exceptional cases.