Cities are buzzing with data. Traffic ebbs and flows, card readers ping, security cameras monitor footpaths, and each one of us is shedding reams of GPS signals, tweets and likes. Most of these data are simply shelved on distant servers and forgotten. But properly aggregated and anonymised, these and terabytes of other data can help city authorities develop policies for a greener, safer and more enjoyable place to live.
That’s exactly what Smart Dublin is designed to do. It’s a joint project between the county’s four local authorities in partnership with technology providers, researchers and citizens. Its goal is to use the latest technologies to interrogate open data and help to discover effective solutions for Dublin’s most pressing issues. It’s targeting ways to improve governance, integrate transport systems, promote sustainability, and support citizens’ quality of life.
You can learn about the work it’s doing in this series of case studies, or delve into the data yourself. The more people participate, the better the outcomes will be.
Smart Docklands
The presence of a large number of global tech giants, a wide range of connectivity and transport options, ‘smart’ assets such as sensors and a steady stream of new-builds have together produced ideal conditions for a strategic digital ‘takeover’ of Dublin’s Docklands region.