Safe City

A Study of Channels for Public Warnings for Emergency Communication in Finland, Germany, and Greece

authored by: Sari Yli-Kauhaluoma, Milt Statheropoulos, Anne Zygmanowski, Osmo Anttalainen, Hanna Hakulinen, Maria Theodora Kontogianni, Matti Kuula, Johannes Pernaa, Paula Vanninen
Abstract: Public warning systems are an essential element of safe cities. However, the functionality of neither traditional nor digital emergency warnings is understood well enough from the perspective of citizens. This study examines smart city development from the perspective of safety by exploring citizens’ viewpoints. It investigates people’s perceptions of the ways in which they obtain warnings and information about emergencies involving health risks. Data were collected in the form of focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews in Finland, Germany, and Greece. The results suggest that people place a lot of trust in their social network, receiving text messages, and their ability to use web-based search engines in order to obtain public warnings. The study discusses the challenges identified by citizens in the use of conventional radio and television transmissions and sirens for public warnings. Based on the results, citizens demonstrate informed ignorance about existing mobile emergency applications. Our results imply that it is not sufficient to build emergency communication infrastructure: the development of smart, safe cities requires continuous work and the integration of both hard and soft infrastructure-oriented strategies, i.e., technological infrastructure development including digitalisation and education, advancement of knowledge, and participation of people. Both strategic aspects are essential to enable people to take advantage of novel digital applications in emergency situations.
Organisation(s): Institute of Electrical Engineering and Measurement Technology
External Organisation(s): University of Helsinki
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Type: Article
Journal: Multimodal Technologies and Interaction
Volume: 7
No. of pages: 14
Publication date: 10.10.2023
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Neuroscience (miscellaneous), Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science Applications, Computer Networks and Communications
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.3390/mti7100094 (Access: Open)