With three-quarters of smartphone owners accessing real-time location-based information, the biggest names in technology - from Apple to Google - are working to mine the value of location-based data. Can local governments do the same?
Adapting the findings of a recent study produced by Deloitte GovLab study, Joe Leinbach, Anesa Diaz-Uda, and William D. Eggers discuss the potential for location-based data to improve the ways governments interact with, and deliver services to, their constituents.
"Governments at every level stand to benefit from the convergence of
geospatial technologies and location-based services," say the authors. "For agency
executives, capturing data from social media and location-based
applications offers a more detailed and nuanced dataset than traditional
GIS and demographic data, leading to better policymaking and program
delivery. At the same time, the more data agencies collect, the better
and more contextually aware location-based services become for citizens
and employees. The result? Better communication, more efficient
allocation of public resources and the ability to rethink the way public
services are delivered."
FULL STORY: 'Where' Matters: Shaping Public Services for the Mobile Citizen
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Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
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Municipality of Princeton (NJ)