Rebecca Williams

Published by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center Technology and Public Purpose Project, this report examines the civil liberties risks posed by “smart city” technologies and offers a ten-point call to action to safeguard democratic values in urban tech infrastructure.

Published by the Harvard Kennedy School, this piece provides practical tools for identifying surveillance infrastructure in your city—and shows how communities can influence oversight through public records and advocacy.

Published by the Harvard Kennedy School, this critical analysis examines gaps in local surveillance oversight laws across the U.S. It identifies loopholes and enforcement challenges and offers recommendations for building more accountable and equitable frameworks.

Co-authored with Liz Sisson and published by the Harvard Kennedy School, this piece challenges investors and governments to prioritize public purpose in “smart city” procurement and warns against treating cities as testing grounds for extractive technologies built on surveillance and data capture.