Place-lovers, city-nerds, urban datageeks - by now you all know that Amazon has entered Phase II of its Eharmony-for-cities quest for "the one," announcing the 20 cities still in the running. But how will Amazon decide? We put together a cool infographic to get to know the finalists better and discussed how best to assess the X-factor - livability - in today's blog!
Read MoreToday, we open up with another topical conversation (especially given the state of our political discourse): the importance of nuance and how glossing over them can lead us to create false equivalencies and/or overstep, both in terms of promises we make or fears we spur. I wrote about this several years ago when walkability was just starting to hit the mainstream (good) but it was being offered as a panacea for all city problems (not good). But as with politics, the devil's in the details...Hope you enjoy our discussion about what to expect - and what not to - from the built environment in our quest to make cities more healthy, livable, and sustainable.
Read MoreThis week, we have two reasons to yet again bring back an "oldie but goodie:" 1) Much-needed levity after a dizzying week and 2) We're hard at work preparing our application for Phase II funding from the Small Business Innovation Research program from the NSF! We've got some SUPER cool stuff planned. Get it touch to find out what we've got up our sleeves. In the meantime, without further ado, please enjoy one of the most embarrassing tidbits I've ever shared about my pre-PhD urban mobility naiveté (or, you could argue, the precursor to my post-PhD absent-mindedness) - my very first bus ride...and of course, how urban data and analytics can help others avoid my nails-on-the-chalkboard-level-of-humiliation story.
Read MoreThat my friends, is an "Alternative Fact." We don't normally do this (although nothing about the beginning of this year has been "normal"), but instead of bringing you a new blog post this week, we're revisiting one of last year's most popular posts, prophetically (or ominously) published on the eve of the election - about you guessed it, FACTS - the real kind - and the importance thereof. Due to the new president's senior advisor, Kellyanne Conway's recent interview with CNN's Chuck Todd, where she explained that Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, had simply offered "alternative facts" about crowd size at the inauguration, we felt a reprisal of the discussion of the role of facts was imminently more important than it was when this post was first published. We'd love your comments on how best to ward off "alternative facts!" Please see our original post below...
Read MoreI've been thinking a lot about the role of "facts" in our society lately...We as a data-driven, evidence-led startup feel it's important to ask the question - what role will facts (and by extension, data, evidence, empiricism) play in a post-Trumpian era? Amidst today’s sound and fury, we wanted to take this time to promise to always serve as a purveyor of facts, a trustworthy and credible source of knowledge, and of course, a data-driven, evidence-based platform to drive (ahem, walk) informed, empirical decisions and reasoned, effective arguments that enhance and promote the power of place...
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