Residential construction sites

Municipality of Utrecht

We would like to know if and where there are suitable residential building locations in Utrecht in the near future. With the aim of having as many housing units as possible available in Utrecht. In doing so, we contribute to Healthy Urban Living in Utrecht.

Last change on 12th of July 2024, at 9:15 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA, ...
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Space and Infrastructure

Begin date

-

Contact information

[e-mail]

Responsible use

Goal and impact

Predicting supply and demand for the number of residential development sites in a given area

Considerations

Results Uthiek Assessment: with this approach, we encourage that there are enough housing sites in Utrecht. This ensures that residents have more opportunities to find housing, if they qualify. In doing so, we contribute to the Autonomy of residents. The fact that we contribute to more suitable housing may lead to better mental health of residents. In doing so, we contribute to the Health value. This approach may lead to fewer homeless people in the city. And thus we contribute to a better living situation for a vulnerable group of residents, namely the value Justice.

Human intervention

The algorithm (with a direct impact on Utrecht residents and their living environment) only serves as a source of information for an employee, who takes the appropriate next step based on this information and the context of the situation. This principle is included in our Utrecht framework Internal Guidelines for Algorithm Application.

Risk management

The Utrecht data scientists, Information and Process Advisors (IPA) and Decentralised Information Security Officers (DISO) within the Utrecht municipality have a controlling and monitoring role in the application of the algorithm, in addition to the employees directly involved. By doing so, we want to prevent the following risks from occurring:

- data leak by making personal data of Utrecht residents publicly available

- algorithm takes a decision completely independently, without the intervention of an employee and without interpreting the relevant context of the situation

- 'function creep' regarding data in the application of the algorithm, causing the algorithm to give a distorted picture of what is going on. This can occur because the same type of data is used when applying the algorithm, and the algorithm uses that as confirmation of what comes out as information

Impact assessment

• Utrechts Uthiek Assessment
• Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Operations

Data

- number of residential building sites

- residential building locations

- number of house seekers per district and neighbourhood

- information on potential housing locations from zoning plans