edgelands blog

How should the Swiss Confederation safeguard its values, interests, and you, its residents, in a digital space that is increasingly turning into an economic and geopolitical battleground? This blog post argues that the answer to this question should not be left solely to elected politicians or public officials but rather be the result of an inclusive societal dialogue surrounding the sovereignty of Switzerland in the digital age. To do so, the blog post examines the Swiss Federal Council’s decision to store the federal administration's data on foreign tech companies’ servers, highlights its national security and privacy implications, and draws parallels with the national debate on railroad nationalization in the 19th century.

An Edgelands Institute/Urban AI Research Project

The Forum Border, Security and Surveillance Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities for Cúcuta” brought together city officials, researchers, Venezuelan professors, members of the Metropolitan Police, students and representatives of civil society organizations to discuss the main security challenges affecting the city

The “social lab” is Mi Sangre Foundation’s methodology for creating an ecosystem of transformation that relies on collaboration and capacity as modes of interrogation.

Edgelands had the chance to speak to a dozen female migrants in Geneva to hear their thoughts on the findings of our diagnostic report.

Edgelands had the opportunity to engage with the senior community in Geneva to understand how the advent of digital technologies has impacted the social fabric of the city.

While the algorithms running in AI programs are efficient in processing thousands of variables and computing millions of data, they are also opaque by nature in their operation.

International Geneva, as we call the cluster of foreign delegations and international organizations massed on the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva, hides a much darker side.

Global Trends and Local Responses to the Algorithmic Management of App-Based Delivery Workers.

We humans have a tendency, even a need, to share about our lives, from the most shocking events to the everyday.

The idea, as urban art often is, is to make the artifacts tell a story, inspire dialogue and interpretation, and send a message of resistance that is also visible in urban space.

On technology as a tool in a safety infrastructure.

The program, which we have launched in partnership with Universidad EAFIT, convenes 50 "sprinters" and topic experts once a week in conversation about the digitalization of urban security in Medellín.

How are digital surveillance technologies changing the social contracts in urban settings and what can people and cities do about it?

Mateus Guzzo explores the interaction between surveillance technology and entrepreneurialism.

What are pop-ups? A powerful tool for redefining urban areas, pop-ups can be a useful tool for reshaping the social contract, but how and where they are deployed can have significant consequences.

As digital technology increases in urban contexts, a new concept of “smart city” is born. In this blog post, Adriana Lasso-Harrier explores the meanings of this contemporary urban experience and its consequences on governance.

Edgelands sat with Enrique Peñalosa, -the two-times Mayor of Bogota, Colombia - for a digital conversation. An authority in Urban affairs, Mr. Penalosa experienced first-hand some of the most pressing issues faced by cities. Most of his professional career has been devoted to thinking about public transport systems, mobility, and public spaces in cities. During his time in office, Mr. Penalosa led the 10+ million inhabitants of the Colombian Capital through some of its greatest challenges. In this conversation with the Edgelands team he reflected on some of the most urgent urban and political issues: the legitimacy of authority and how to make Cities drivers of equality.

Yves Daccord, Chief Executive Officer, shares his thoughts about the importance of building a new social contract.

On April 30th 2021, the Edgelands Institute held its first Café Croissant conversation with Yves Daccord, Yvette Sánchez, Séverin Guelpa and Sarah Newman.

What lessons can we learn from COVID-19 to be inclusive in our design of a new urban social contract? Who are the voices we are leaving out that need to be heard?

This blog post reviews four theories and frameworks that offer some guidelines to balance interests such as efficient governance, justice, fairness, individual liberties, and public safety.

The Edgelands Institute sat down with the architect and urban designer Christina Leigh Geros to talk about how deep soils and arid soils create an attending set of political, social, and ecological relations.

A close look to the Norwegian social contract model.

The Edgelands Institute had a chance to sit down for a conversation with Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, to hear his perspective on what businesses and private corporations can do to uphold their obligations to society.