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When Big Data analyzes cities
Although we do not see them, huge amounts of information are stored and circulated around our world generated by companies, administrations or the citizens themselves in an explosion of data waiting to be processed and used for different purposes under the label of the so-called Big data or "large-scale data." For a few years now, the digital transformation that we are all undergoing supposes a paradigm shift, of activities where the influence of the analysis of a large number of figures provides us with values with possible and useful applications and predictions if we look at it from the perspective of the habitability and city design, experts call it Smart Data.
To begin to understand how it works, we are going to try to answer some questions …
What is meant by Big Data or what is it?
It is this technology that allows a large volume of data to be synthesized and analyzed efficiently and quickly from very different sources. As examples; from the searches we carry out on Google, through the GPS signals according to our movements, from the purchases we make, from all the information that is posted on the Internet, article, social networks, blogs or those objects that we have connected in our houses to the Internet … etc. We can verify some more indications in this post being that in addition, the data is analyzed completely automatically, instantly and in real time.
When and how was he born
It is not exactly known since when it exists or when it was invented at a historical point, it is true that the phenomenon was already exposed by a computer scientist John Mashey in the report called "Big Data and the Next Wave of Infrastress." Said study intuited that the unstoppable growth of the volume of information would be very difficult to manage by the human and physical infrastructures used in 1998. Possibly when it arises, it is thanks to the low costs of information storage and of course, to the increase in processing speed.
Remember that storing notes, numbers and figures is useless … You have to analyze!
What is the growth volume
We believe we understand that the following graph clearly shows the upward curve only from mobile devices, computers, tablets … etc. It is just one example of the overwhelming growth in a specific sector where big data charts provide relevant information:
By the way, where they are stored is based on the so-calleddata center that they are information collector centers of technology and computing and that belong to governments, organizations and large companies if we talk about large numbers that use techniques to extract and translate exact configurations.
What is Big Data for?
The study of the data allows us to find those relationships that at first glance we cannot see and although it seems that they have nothing in common, if we organize them, if we contrast and schematize them, we can detect different patterns, correlations and trends in order to make specific decisions achieving more reliable forecasts and diagnoses that can be used, for example, to improve the habitability of cities and their efficiency, taking into account the growth rate of cities around the world.
How does it work
It works using open source software (Hadoop) where large files are processed and divided into smaller ones to be able to handle ourselves more quickly and easily, and which also provides backup copies. If we transfer this aspect to the information that we have analyzed and obtained from a city, in an orderly and schematic way, a Smart City platform model that we can find, as an example:
How to use the information
In relation to cities, the management of processes and infrastructures are advancing very rapidly based on information on the traffic that it supports every day and a more precise estimate that will determine the possible future traffic. Endless variables studied that will improve as an example; the efficiency of transport or energy savings that could be achieved.
We can use a Big Data volume study to treat the behavior of citizens and their urban planning, their needs, or industrial predictive maintenance and its costs or failures, even predictions in the field of health.
In the following infographic we can see some of the milestones of interest:
Big data examples and their application
From the MIT department of urban planning and city analysis, we have the Treepedia project on the intelligence of cities. Smart cities. Cities around the world compete for greener areas and therefore more trees. The increase in the number of trees and their volume in cities contributes to reducing urban temperatures and increasing water evaporation by creating more comfortable microclimates, also mitigating air pollution from daily urban activities or helping to avoid flooding during heavy rains. So in general, trees are quite necessary within the urban fabric.
After the incorporation of data by means of a new big data system have been able to compare different smart cities and establish an analysis of the benefits of having more or fewer trees:
If we move to New York City, for example, more than two-thirds of the energy is used in appliances and buildings, mainly destined for space heating and cooling, lighting or electricity. So buildings are the key points to practice energy efficiency and saving.
With these rates of energy use, a primary objective was to analyze if we can be more efficient in the use of energy. This is where the example of using Big Data to begin to understand energy consumption and why there are areas that consume less than others.
To understand how it can be useful, what better way than to see a TED conference in Barcelona where it shows us the usability of data compared to tourism in Spain as a perfect example of use to be more effective and efficient from an economic, urban planning, and urban planning perspective. infrastructures … etc.
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