— More than half of the world's population lives in cities: How can digitalisation help with the challenges?
— Peter Schaar examines the benefits and risks of smart cities
— Practical examples are used to analyse the balance between technological progress and personal rights.

The dream of the ideal city is as old as the city itself. Since real cities often develop chaotically, the idea of perfecting them, even tearing them down if necessary, and rebuilding them according to the prevailing patterns of thought is an obvious one. The latest manifestation of this utopia is the smart city - the intelligent city, packed with the latest technology and extensively digitised.
But will air taxis and hyperloops, ubiquitous sensors, access control systems and data-driven management really make the city of the future a better place to live? Are they the answer to the enormous challenges facing today's fast-growing metropolises? Or will the supposed administrative paradise ultimately mutate into a digital juggernaut?

Peter Schaar is a well-known data protection expert and former Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
After studying economics in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main, he graduated from the University of Hamburg in 1979. He held various positions in the Hamburg administration before founding a data protection consultancy in 2002. As Federal Commissioner from 2003 to 2013, he promoted transparency and the protection of privacy. Schaar is chairman of the European Academy for Freedom of Information and Data Protection and heads the arbitration board of the Society for Telematics in Healthcare. He is also politically active for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. Schaar has received several awards and believes that data protection and freedom of information are important economic factors.