Hi all,
I have recently been asked about installing some Wifi benches in Forest Hill. These are benches with a tree like structure that will have some solar panels (to provide power) and useful place for advertising. One would be able to access free wifi, charge their mobile or even donate to a charity (later stages). As the council is not paying for the benches the advertising is the payoff.
The first place identified was in front of the pool. I am afraid I said no to that idea as I thought that introduction of advertising in that space would really harm what seems lovely approach to the pool. I am not completely apposed to the idea in other places but would like to hear the views of people on this forum (Even if it is in front of the pool)
I am happy to hear all comments, for and against. Would you use them? What do you like or don’t like? Could you think of the place where they may come in useful? There are other 5 spots on Dartmouth Road that have been suggested which I will be happy to revel if they come up in the comments.
@anon5422159 you may need to do a pol at a later stage.
What about just before the start of the pool slope leading to the side entrance where the path on the right hand side (when approaching) leads to the estate & the kids play park behind it. That might work.
Or at one of the new or existing bus stops on D Rd.
My other suggestion would be somewhere either near Sydenham Girls or my shop as quite often the School kids run out of charge on their phones & have to contact their parents sometimes to say they’re now on their way home after swimming, after a School activity etc. Qn quite a few occasions I’ve let kids charge their phone at the shop so that their parents don’t panic or get worried when they don’t get the call they’re expecting.
What about on the stretch of Perry Vale between the car park and the underpass there is a bench there but it would be useful and in plain sight for any anti vandal problems. Or Mayow park?
I would love to have this type of the bench on the bus stop at Inglemere road, bus route 75 towards Croydon. There is a bus stop but not covered. People often sit on the bit of fencing pipe because the bus runs late or does not turn up at all. I have seen benches like that, they look nice, wide and stylish. I would say yes to one on this particular bus stop.
Hi @MajaHilton a concern of mine would be privacy, what sort of guarantee would residents get that the benches would not be tracking the devices and gathering data? or if they were to gather data how that might be used?
There were smart bins installed a couple of years ago in the city of London that were described as having similar features that not long after being installed had to be disabled due to privacy concerns.
Also if the benches are providing public WiFi what measures will be put in place to protect people who might be less aware to the security risks of using public WiFi spots?
People use public hotspots and unsecured networks all the time - coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc etc. It’s their personal responsibility to make sure they are aware of the risks of using an unsecured network.
iPhones pop up a permission dialog before allowing a connected USB device to access any data:
On Android it looks as if you can also secure any USB connections:
Tracking devices over wifi is a possibility, although this shouldn’t reveal any personal data in its own right. TfL did this for a while on the London Underground:
To answer the question of what data would I expect them to track, I am not really sure without knowing how the service is expected to work. But they could be able to obtain some people’s device identifiers just as people pass the bench and people may be unaware this is happening and obviously they now know the location of that device.
Now if the free WiFi requires you to give details to use this service. They can likely tie that device ID to an entity (a person). So all of this starts to add up espcailly if they are buying and selling data from other services/companies. This can gives companies a good idea about your habits/interests/locations etc etc.
So to loop back the reason I ask is to better understand what they might gather, if anything, and if they do how they might use it. If they do will it be clear to users that this is happening?
When it comes to security and privacy I am more concerned about things like if you are required to create an account to use the WiFi how will that data be transferred and stored? And as I mentioned what can be done to keep people safe whilst using it, this could be technical solutions and/or it could be helping to educate.
I am just generally interested in the technical shifts we are seeing happen around us and the benefits and risks/costs (data is big business) they come with.
Smart benches are already in operation in other places, so I suspect the issues of security and privacy have been raised before. It might be worth looking to see if the answers to your questions are already out there somewhere.
I’m not a fan of the idea. Given the proliferation of wifi in local shops/cafes, along with cheap data I can’t quite understand the need for more connectivity. Aren’t we connected enough? Do we need to be more connected?
That aside, I’m also not a fan of the benches as shown in the article. I can’t quite see how these designs will fit in with the vernacular of the area. I would also like to see some seating that also has some back support. Are these available in other designs/styles?
I guess you’re right. I’d much rather have non office workers cluttering up these benches for good wifi rather than taking up seats in cafes. Especially in the rain.
I think there is a good case for these benches in city centres and near transport hubs, where people might genuinely benefit from being able to get online and also charge their phones. As someone about to send a child off backpacking, I find such benches quite reassuring. I’m not sure it’s something there is a pressing need for in Forest Hill, though.
Wow I did not realise Forest Hill had a population of Luddites. Perhaps we should build a ducking stool to torment the challengers to our new Amish community.
I’m far from being a Luddite. We are a family of early adopters, which means we have every iteration of each developing technology you can imagine. It’s quite the archive. Or possibly junk.
My concerns about a bench like this would be for the medium to long term impact on our streetscape. Would it be maintained? What if the company behind it folds? Or the advertisers pull out? Is it something that would enhance our streetscape? Sydenham Road had a problem recently when their Legible London map boards were vandalised and it turned out no one in the council had budgeted for repairs.
I do like the idea of tech benches as a concept, (18year old inside me), but then my older self thinks it is not really for me, and I really don’t like the advertising aspect of it. It can look great in some places, and equally terrible in others, so placement is also an issue. It seems the older we are the less important is the wifi element and more important having somewhere to sit (by the bus stop etc) and aesthetics of Public realm.
I also like the element of tracking local pollution as a record to identify local pollution problems. Being solar powered is another plus as they can be moved to locations without electricity cables nearby.
Advertising bit is real downer on me as I do care what young minds are exposed just by walking on the local streets, simply because I am a parent. Currently they are sponsored by Cancer Research so it is difficult argue with the cause. As the Local authority would give permission for these to be put we can have conditions attached. Therefore there is already a list of not acceptable advertising agreed with the supplier of the benches
· Alcohol
· Adult
· Black magic and astrology
· Cosmetic procedures
· Dating
· Drugs
· Fast Food
· Gambling
· Hate/discrimination
· Lingerie
· No win, no claim
· Nudity
· Payday lenders
· Political
· Pornography
· Ringtones and downloadables
· Sexuality
· Tobacco
· Weapons
· Weight loss
· Religious
Does existence of such a list make it more acceptable to have in some places these benches. Could you think of another category that should be added to such a list?
?