Blockchain for Smart Cities

​On May 8, 2018, the BlockchainHub hosted guest speakers from as far away as Japan and Saudi Arabia.  They spoke about:

1. The emergence of “Smart Cities” in Japan and Saudi Arabia;
2. Integration between the Internet of things (IoT) and Blockchain; and 
3. Ways in which blockchain may be used to address privacy issues for smart cities and more generally.

Marek Laskowski, Co-Founder of Blockchain Lab and Professor of Information and Computing Technologies at York University spoke about blockchain in the context of the built environment.  He focused on the privacy implications of miniaturization and ubiquity of connected devices as well as ways to satisfy Privacy by Design principles, echoing some concerns shared by MT>3 clients.  On the eve of changes such as the GDPR in Europe, Canadian mandatory privacy breach notification rules, and the increased use of “Internet of Things” devices, privacy issues for business and individuals are top of mind.
 
There are many potential beneficial applications for distributed ledger, permissioned blockchains and “smart contracts”. 
 
MT>3 recognizes the value in these and other emerging technologies.  We are watching them closely as we explore new approaches.