Smart Street Furniture: User and Non-User Perspectives of the ChillOUT Hub

This article addresses gaps in knowledge about whether or not smart street furniture could enhance the relationship between people and place, and whether it improves the design, amenity and management of public open space. An Australian design team, comprising a local council, a street furniture manufacturer, and academics, designed, built, piloted, and assessed a new piece of smart street furniture called a ‘ChillOUT Hub’. This Hub is an integrated street furniture system, designed for public open spaces. It is enabled with ‘smart’ technology features such as Wi-Fi, mobile device charging stations, plus infrastructure usage and environmental sensors. The Hub aims to support social health, improve microclimatic conditions, and provide equitable access to technology. Street survey processes were undertaken with both ‘users’ and ‘non-users’ of the Hubs. The findings help to identify what value digitally enhanced street furniture actually has in open space and how that value is perceived by the public. The Council and Hub users overwhelmingly appreciated the newly designed street furniture and its smart amenities. Non-users clarified why they did not use smart street furniture and discussed the option of having digital amenities in public spaces more generally.