{"id":16639,"date":"2016-11-29T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=16639"},"modified":"2020-12-24T21:55:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-25T05:55:36","slug":"data-powered-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/data-powered-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Powered Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

The future of urban planning lies in not just accessing information, but deploying it as a resource to enhance urban planning and improve the lives of residents.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every minute of every day, data is collected, stored and analyzed. So many of our daily activities now leave behind digital breadcrumbs, from trips to the grocery store to the books we check out of the library. Sometimes it can feel like we\u2019re trapped in a dystopian nightmare reminiscent of 1984, but in reality, data is agnostic and nonpartisan. There is no opinion or bias, just facts and figures.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the upside of all this statistical accumulation?<\/p>\n

For city planners, data collection provides the opportunity to fundamentally change public works and infrastructure. The more data shared, the better organization possible, from efficient traffic measures to responsive streetlamps. Thanks to organizations like Open Government Partnership and the Open Data Institute<\/a>, urban planning is now in the midst of a \u201cdata revolution.\u201d\"shutterstock_152077328\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are helping build the data infrastructure for the UK and beyond\u201d ODI CEO Gavin Starks recently declared<\/a>. \u201cAs our economy and society continue to become data-driven, we need to address the fact that data is as important as roads, water and energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with our partners and diverse communities, we will continue to support and convene data pioneers, helping them develop open standards, improve data literacy, build trust, address policy, create business models, and tackle challenges that impact everyone. Together, we will help build a robust data infrastructure that enables open innovation \u2013 at web scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracking Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the US Census Bureau, the average daily commute last about 25 minutes, one way. That\u2019s almost an hour a day spent in traffic, and many nine-to-fivers will tell you that\u2019s on a good day. Between fender-benders, roadwork, and weather-related incidents, some days the trip to and from work can take two or more hours, stretching a typical 9-hour workday into a 13+ hour marathon.<\/p>\n

But what if there was another way?<\/p>\n

For years, cities have tried to reduce the amount of cars on the road. We have carpool lanes and special commuter buses. There are subways and bike lanes, and all manner of ride-sharing incentives. Unfortunately, the one thing that can\u2019t be eliminated is the road itself. That\u2019s where data can become a tool for change.<\/p>\n

The ability to track and analyze traffic data allows for smarter urban planning. Already, apps like Waze help drivers choose alternate route to avoid accidents and traffic jams. For cities, the ability to crunch the numbers could supercharge city works projects by not only identifying areas ripe for improvement but by also providing critical data analytics. In this way, city planners could determine the impact of a particular choice \u2013 installing roundabouts, removing on-street parking, changing the timing at a busy intersection \u2013 before boots hit the ground.<\/p>\n

As a June 2016 ODI news release<\/a> clarified, \u201cOur system currently relies on physical infrastructure that has been slowly assembled over hundreds of years. But the system is creaking at the seams, as it struggles to support increasing demand for passenger journeys and the transportation of goods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urgently need to think about the data infrastructure that\u2019s needed to support transport innovation and bring about the transition to \u2018intelligent mobility\u2019 – where emerging technologies enable the smarter, greener and more efficient movement of people and goods.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Measures and Moments<\/strong><\/p>\n

For city managers, resource allocation can be a challenge. Short on funds and battling high demand, it can difficult to choose where to place the new hospital, build the new high school, or approve the next big apartment complex. The right analytics can provide insight and can help cities avoid unanticipated consequences. It\u2019s not quite a crystal ball, but it\u2019s pretty close.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the gift bestowed by big data is freedom: the freedom to plan ahead, the freedom to entertain almost unlimited scenarios, the freedom to change the way infrastructure is used and developed. Essentially, data collection provides a series of moments, recording details and measuring impacts to paint a fuller picture of what\u2019s happening on and off city highways and byways.<\/p>\n

In Barcelona, for example, soil sensors send alerts whenever irrigation of city parks needs adjusting. In Amsterdam, streetlights dim late when no pedestrians are detected. Mexico City and Sweden are sharing data to promote transparency in government contracts and foreign aid. In Baltimore, crime statistics are combined with MasterCard transactions to provide snapshot of the relationship between criminality, commerce and tax collection.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an entirely new way of managing and measuring human behavior, one Fast Company\u2019s Alexander Starritt calls, \u201cthe most boringly named revolution in history<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBig data, smart cities, the internet of things\u2026ultimately it\u2019s about information and the change that follows from finding out what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cCities are where this is going to happen,\u201d he continues. \u201cData is going to shift foundations that have sat undisturbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no data revolution monument, no parade, not even a ministry of data. It really will be like electricity: Most people don\u2019t know how it works, but you come home, flick a switch, and you\u2019ve got lights, music, movies \u2013 everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The future of urban planning lies in not just accessing information, but deploying it as a resource to enhance urban planning and improve the lives of residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":16642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[679,902,21,441,301],"class_list":["post-16639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-big-data","tag-city","tag-data-infrastructure","tag-urban-design","tag-urban-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The future of urban planning lies in not just accessing information, but deploying it as a resource to enhance urban planning and improve the lives of residents.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Data Powered Cities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The future of urban planning lies in not just accessing information, but deploying it as a resource to enhance urban planning and improve the lives of residents.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/data-powered-cities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-29T13:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-25T05:55:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/10\/shutterstock_152077328.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"663\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cutright Elizabeth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/data-powered-cities\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/data-powered-cities\/\",\"name\":\"Data Powered Cities - 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