A survey of the quickly broadening reach of data about the movement of traffic reveals the next step necessary to achieve congestion nirvana: unfettered access to private cell phone data.
"The proliferation of granular data on automobile movement, drawn from smartphones, cab companies, sensors and cameras, is sharpening our sense of how cars travel through cities," according to a new post by Henry Grabar for Next City.
The article proceeds to whiz through a survey of the groundbreaking troves of data that have emerged in recent years, citing specific examples and explaining in common sense terms how the new data is changing the thinking of researchers, businesses, and government.
But even that data is only a percentage of the benefits available if individual cellphones are fully enabled to share data about traffic and mobility, according to Grabar. Grabar compares cellphones to taxi or municipal bus data in making this point: "Using individual cellphones would have a far greater impact. AirSage, which has exclusive rights to location data from two major U.S. wireless carriers, offers real-time, geographic information on one-third of Americans."
The catch, according to Grabar, is for Americans to willingly give up private data on their whereabouts.
FULL STORY: Would You Share Private Data for the Good of City Planning?
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
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Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.
From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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.
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Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service