The new streetlights look almost identical to the old ones. The difference is the small grey box bolted just below the lamp — a cluster of sensors that can measure noise, air quality and the number of people walking underneath.

In at least 30 mid-sized European cities, these upgrades have been rolled out as routine maintenance, approved in procurement documents rather than public debates.

Maintenance or surveillance?

Vendors argue the data is anonymised at the source and never stores faces or voices. Privacy researchers note that anonymised movement patterns can still be revealing when combined with other public data.

“Nobody voted against it, because nobody knew there was a vote.”

A different model

A handful of cities now publish a live register of every sensor and what it measures. Residents can object, and in two neighbourhoods they already have — successfully.