Senator Charles Schumer said that billboard companies that track people's movements through smartphone apps in order to optimize advertising locations pose a threat to privacy.
The youngest households are abandoning landlines in droves. About two-thirds of households led by people ages 15 to 29 relied only on cellphones in 2011, compared with 28 percent for the broader population.
Data-collection sensors affixed to the lamp posts will measure air quality, light intensity, sound volume, heat, precipitation and wind. The sensors will also count people by measuring wireless signals from mobile devices.
Manual processes are the weakest link in an automated system. As corporations strive to be more lean and efficient, employees are often tasked with extra duties and stresses that can aggravate the problem.
