The tragedy of the commons: the case of connectivity booths in New York

Sidewalk Labs, the company that filled New York with booths to access high speed internet, WiFi, recharging points for devices and a large screen with a keyboard, has been forced to suspend the service. The reason is that these booths were mainly being used by homeless people, who, suddenly able to access content of all kinds — including pornography and music, very often at high volume and for long periods of time, had installed themselves next to the booths with all their belongings, effectively monopolizing them and leading to a number of incidents.

The outcome is a textbook example of the so-called tragedy of the commons, whereby a small number of individuals, motivated only by self-interest and acting independently but rationally, end up destroying a (common) limited shared resource although none of them, either as individuals or collectively, benefits from the result.

The decision to install access points as a way to modernize antiquated and largely unused telephone booths was taken, in part, as a measure of inclusion: to provide important connectivity to the public. The idea was to provide a resource to those who for whatever reason, be it “I’ve run out of battery” or “I left home without my cellphone”, but also “I cannot afford a connection” or “I’m homeless”. The appeal of the project for Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio, was its inclusiveness, a way of bridging the digital divide between the connected and unconnected.

However, one thing is to provide a timely solution, and quite another to set up a public audiovisual space, creating an image and security problem: what to do when countless numbers of people begin to share images on social networks of access points turned into makeshift living rooms? Are these really offering connectivity infrastructure to the disconnected, or are serving another purpose that wasn’t on the program?

The attitude of the city police has been one of tolerance: upbraiding somebody who has nothing to lose is no easy task, and doing so with that section of society that needs shelter was never going to look good. ing point. But the successive protests from people unhappy at their access point taken over by homeless people, regardless of their social awareness, has led to the worst outcome: remove the resource. As Business Intelligence pointed out dryly: “this is why New Yorkers can’t have nice things.”

The attitude of the company, reported on its website, is clear:

“We also know that have been some users monopolizing the Link tablets and using them inappropriately, Preventing others from being reliable to use them while frustrating the residents and businesses around them. The kiosks were never intended for anyone’s extended, personal use and we want to ensure that Links are accessible and a welcome addition to New York City neighborhoods. “

How then, to provide these kinds of amenities without them being abused? Social engineering is a not an exact science. Few really expect the withdrawal of the service to last for long, seeing it more as a temporary measure while the booths are redesigned to prevent misuse, possibly through shorter sessions or introducing other elements that hinder prolonged use. But for now, New York’s example should serve as a warning: good ideas are not always so easy to put into practice.

But let’s be clear about one thing: this is not a technology problem, it’s a human nature problem.