Legal Framework and Current Debate

The URBANEYE project shall provide a comparative overview of institutional contexts of CCTV in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom by textual interpretation of policy documents, legislation and the analysis of media discourses in selected print media .

Locations and Actors

The project will map locations of CCTV in selected urban areas of Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, London, Madrid, Oslo and Vienna. It will identify clients and suppliers, their intentions and the core features of located systems in order to develop a cross-national typology of video surveillance.

The Systems: Their Structures and Practices

The project shall examine the technical functions, the spatial configuration of control, the styles of management and the practice of surveillance in selected CCTV systems in each of the seven capitals (except Madrid).

The Social Effects

It will study the social effects of CCTV surveillance in terms of changes in criminal and every-day behaviour by analysing crime statistics and interviewing observed.

The Political Impacts

The project will assess the impacts of CCTV on politics of law enforcement, civil rights and the character of public space with the help of an expert workshop with stakeholders from politics and law enforcement agencies, data protectors, civil rights groups and urban planners.

Strategies for Regulation

Based upon the findings of the research the URBANEYE project will outline strategies for the regulation of CCTV by collating and classifying existing and discussed mechanisms of control and devising good practices.