Using Blockchain Technology to Manage IoT Data for Smart City Initiatives: A Conceptual Framework and Initial Experiments Based on Smart Contracts

Abstract

Blockchain technology is attracting the interest of professionals and academics across a variety of disciplines, including the interdisciplinary field of digital government. Such technology has the potential to transform the public sector by providing innovative ways to secure data and detect tampering. However, few studies have theorized the experimental applications of such technology and how it could be applied to data management practices in data-rich environments, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) applications in smart cities. This chapter proposes a workflow diagram for technical experiments that explore how blockchain technology can protect the integrity of data from sensors in a context where IoT functions as the underpinning infrastructure. This endeavor helps to contextualize this emerging technology and sheds light on opportunities, risks, and challenges of using blockchain technology in environments where intensive data collection is the norm. Contributions include a framework on data management for IoT that can be of special value to local governments that are considering blockchain as instrumental in engaging in or enhancing data-driven operations.