Harnessing “big data” linked to the built environment and how people inhabit it could revolutionise design and create buildings better suited to users’ needs, argues a new report by RIBA and Arup.
Designing with Data: Shaping Our Future Cities claims big data can provide insights into how people use and interact with buildings and the urban landscape, and contribute to more efficient designs.
Large volumes of ‘big data’ are constantly being generated by technologies such as sensors, smart meters, social media and mobile phones, or gathered by utility companies, public sector bodies and private companies. For example, satnav manufacturer TomTom uses location data from 16.7 million anonymous mobile phone users to provide live information about traffic congestion.
Analysis of large unstructured datasets to produce insights into our behaviour is predicted to create huge value for industries and government over the next 10 years. City authorities such as New York and Chicago are already using big data to plan and manage their cities more effectively.
But the report says that the built environment sector is lagging behind the health and transport sectors in accessing and making use of the data resources available.
Report author Léan Doody, lead consultant for smart cities at Arup, said: “We have all been in situations when we are frustrated by our environment; when we are unable to park, roads are over-crowded or pavements too narrow. Analysis of open data provides the possibility of avoiding this, and we are already seeing some exciting government initiatives in the UK around this, including the launch of the Smart Cities Forum, the Open Data Institute (ODI) and the Future Cities Catapult.
“This report illustrates the positive practical and economic benefits of using open data, and in doing show demonstrates the necessity for its wider use.”
The London Heatmap developed by the Greater London Authority is an example of use of open data. It allows people to identify opportunities for Decentralised Energy projects in London. www.londonheatmap.org.uk
RIBA president Stephen Hodder said: “The UK currently scores top for open data, according to the Open Knowledge Foundation. Lots of the data is available and already being collected, so why aren’t more architects taking advantage? We need the government to ensure this data is harnessed by local authorities and made available for architects, developers, residents groups, charities, and business so they can make the best use of it.”
The report points out that much of the data gathered by industry consultants – for instance on population densities and commuting patterns – is submitted to planning authorities in the form of pdfs. But if made available in an editable format, the information could be pooled and used by other design teams.
Sentiment analysis of twitter feeds and social media could also allow designers to see what people currently think and say about places, extending public consultation exercises beyond the social groups that normally respond to consultations.
The report makes three recommendations to government to ensure that the benefits of big data are integrated into planning and design:
- Government departments should talk to each other to ensure they collect, share, and analyse data relevant to operational city management and to design and development.
- As part of its Open Data initiative the government should scope common standards for the digitisation of information submitted in planning applications, and of standardising the collection of design data.
- A joint working group should be set up by the DCLG and Cabinet Office, built environment professionals and academics and organisations such as the Open Data Institute to move forward on the collection of built environment data and its analysis.
