How Behavioral Analytics Is Changing Cities
Cities are fertile ground for data collection and analysis. High population density means there’s a wealth of data available and digital technology makes it easier than ever for trends to be tracked. So, it’s no surprise that across the country — and the world — governments, citizens, and businesspeople alike are turning to behavioral data to better urban life.
Tracking traffic and commuter data can help streamline transportation for better energy efficiency and safer streets. Following city development more closely can help identify the next best area to start residential and commercial projects. Far from being best hopes for the future, positive changes like these are already happening.
So, without further ado, here are some of the ways that behavioral analytics have already changed cities all over — and how data will continue to shape metropolises for decades to come.
Tourism dollars are a huge source of revenue for cities around the world, so attracting and providing an exemplary experience for travelers is a constant project for most major destinations. Cities have been reliably surveying visitors and businesses about their experience with tourism for years, and the basic demographic data of tourism can be reliably charted. Consider this poll from 2012, which shows a breakdown of tourists’ interests in Edinburgh, Scotland:
But better technology allows for more interesting, granular data to be collected about exactly what attracts people to cities and exactly what they do there.
For example, in Spain, a study analyzed previously underutilized anonymized bank card information to classify cities “based on the economic behavior of their residents [… and built] a novel classification of cities across Spain in three categories.” This study found that their categorization based on local behaviors directly correlated to cities’ abilities to attract foreign tourists. With this information, cities in Spain can better understand why they’re unable to attract tourists and focus on solving root problems that prevent them from engaging with foreigners.
Once tourists are in cities, there’s more data than might even be imaginable to collect and analyze. One place that’s overflowing with tourists and behavioral data is the Louvre, one of the busiest museums in the world.
The Parisian cultural icon mapped its visitors using Bluetooth sensors to understand how the crowd moves through the museum and understand what situations discourage visitors from staying longer in the museum. They found, among other things, that visitors used roughly the same routes to get around the museum no matter how long their visits were. This might help them, for example, better indicate where lesser-used amenities and paths are to ease congestion.
Behavioral analytics and public health and safety are a match made in heaven. For example, hospitals monitoring Google searches for the flu were better able to predict surges in emergency department visits.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
Take San Jose, for example. The city’s Environmental Services Department (ESD) noticed that with an uptick in residents, more and more trash and large items were being illegally dumped on the streets. This had an obvious ripple effect that negatively impacted residents’ relationship with the public spaces in their city and neighborhoods.
The ESD decided to put in place a free and low-cost junk removal and collection scheme that would help residents safely get rid of their unwanted items.
The ESD, the city’s data analytics team, and the behavioral insights team joined forces to determine the best way to get citizens to actually use the program through different wording on announcements. One mailing urged residents to “do the right thing” by following protocol and the other framed the city’s removal services as an exclusive offer.
