In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, Eric Jaffe explores how cash-strapped cities will handle terrorism. "The short answer is public surveillance cameras. The long answer is smarter public surveillance cameras."
Jaffe reports from the New York Ideas festival, where NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly explained how New York City has managed to maintain vigilent in combating terrorism despite having 6,000 less officers than it did a decade ago. "[A]n intricate system of cameras and license-plate readers," which covers Lower Manhattan and is being expanded to midtown and other "vulnerable" parts of the city, has been integral to their efforts.
"Part of what makes this strategy so efficient, despite a reduction in the size of the police force, is that cameras are handling more of the workload on their own," says Jaffe. "Analytics enable the cameras to see something and say something, if you will: they can determine if a package has been left in a particular spot for a long period of time, for instance, and track back through files to find a person wearing a certain color shirt."
However, as Sean Gallagher explains in Ars Technica, technology (and facial recognition software specifically) clearly failed in the search for the Boston bombing suspects. "Under the best circumstances, facial recognition can be extremely accurate, returning the right person as a potential match more than 99 percent of the time with ideal conditions," he says. "But to get that level of accuracy almost always requires some skilled guidance from humans, plus some up-front work to get a good image." Let's just hope those skilled humans aren't being furloughed when they're needed.
FULL STORY: How Cash-Strapped Cities Will Handle Terrorism
Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
A new state law requires all Washington cities to allow co-living facilities in areas zoned for multifamily housing.
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
The City of Broken Sidewalks
Can Los Angeles fix 4,000 miles of broken sidewalks before the city hosts the 2028 Olympic Games?
Housing as a Climate Resilience Strategy
Ensuring that housing, including in informal settlements, is safe and healthy for its residents is a key tool in the fight to build more sustainable and equitable communities in the face of climate migration.
Southeast LA Road Safety Advocates Call for Improved Infrastructure
Streets in southeastern Los Angeles County have a severe lack of protected bike lanes and traffic safety measures, leading to high numbers of fatalities in a community where many residents depend on walking and biking for daily needs.
USDOT: Low-Income Households Bear Highest Transportation Cost Burden
Transportation costs are the second-highest household expenditure behind housing for all income levels.
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Prescott
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Village of Glen Ellyn
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
CORP - COnsulting Research Projects
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners