How smart citizen data is being used to shape the future of our cities

“A new breed of start-ups are enabling citizens to influence planning decisions made in their neighbourhoods, as smart cities look to more effectively cater for the needs of those who reside in them.”

Playable Cities: the city that plays together, stays together

“Forget about smart cities, Playable City ideas – like Bristol’s water slide or its temporary play streets – are a human response to the coldness and anonymity of the urban environment”

Bright lights, big cities, bigger data

“Yet as cities grow bigger, their problems multiply. San Francisco is facing an affordable housing crisis. Traffic in Los Angeles drives people crazy. New York faces all of that and more. But changing existing structures isn’t easy. Increasingly, cities are looking to big data in order to solve their problems.”

Could we plan our cities using Twitter?

“Last year, the Urban Attitudes Lab was founded, dedicated to studying how “big data” can inform city planning and policy. Its director, Justin Hollander, and his team have been analysing Twitter for key words and sentiments about civic issues, in order to learn more about what people think about their cities, and how policy can respond.”

What makes a city ‘smart,’ anyway?

“In recent years, urban planners, cross-sector leaders, and city enthusiasts have trumpeted the rise of “smart cities.” As that conversation gets louder, we can’t help but ask: What exactly makes a city smart?”

Three questions about India’s “smart cities”

“Smart city” has become a buzzword in India ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined his vision for creating a series (a hundred, to be exact) of them. Since then, there have been many debates to unpack, understand and define the smart city. “Smart cities” joins the long list of many other often overused city descriptors such as “creative cities”, “sustainable cities”, “eco-cities”, “resilient cities” and “liveable cities”.