The Future of Smart Cities' Platforms: How integration of big data and citizen engagement within a single user interface can leverage urban planning

The technologies that are being developed for the smart city have created 90% of the data in the world in the last two years alone. Most of it remains in silos, but city planners could benefit a lot from this data and better... [ view full abstract ]

The technologies that are being developed for the smart city have created 90% of the data in the world in the last two years alone. Most of it remains in silos, but city planners could benefit a lot from this data and better cater the needs of citizens. These are the data within the IoT network, and the data on demographics produced through citizen engagement. There is a giant influx of data being generated, which also means there is a growing demand for a solution that is able to refine, organise, and visualise this data.

One of the solutions to break silos are single user platforms where all critical metrics are visualised, and available for project management. Combining different layers of data — citizen demographics, open and licensed data on real estate, mobility, and sustainability — will provide an end user with a comprehensive analysis about cities and areas, and support sustainable planning and decision-making. The data analysis and identified trends will forecast the optimal direction for urban development: assess spatial inequalities and segregation in cities, or mark urban inconsistencies.