Cities Get Proactive About Citizen Gripes

Ever wish it didn't take 4 calls, 2 letters, and 1 community meeting to get a pothole fixed in your city? A new software developed by IBM would allow cities to mine social media to get a picture of public sentiment, long before you dial 3-1-1.

1 minute read

September 14, 2012, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj

Pothole detecting apps are so yesterday. IBM's software, which was developed as part of its Smarter Cities program and has already been tested in India, is based on the emerging field of social sentiment analysis, explains Emily Badger. Apparently, IBM, "is now marketing software to municipalities that claims it can
determine aggregated public opinion – positive, neutral and negative –
in the millions of data points that make up our social media ramblings."

"If the thought bothers you of a government-deployed algorithm listening
in on your public expression," writes Badger, "maybe you don't want to complain about
potholes on Twitter after all. These sentiment analysis tools work
precisely because we've made so many of our private thoughts publicly
available in cyber space. From a city's perspective, the Internet is the
new town hall."

FULL STORY: The Internet Is the New Town Hall and Soon Cities Will Be Listening

Thursday, September 13, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

Government / Politics Technology World Smarter Cities IBM Social Sentiment Analysis View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Get 25% Off Your Subscription

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.