Smart cities and ICT based analysis: utilizing opportunities of big data

Rein Ahas

Professor of Human Geography

University of Tartu

Baltic Urban Forum workshop in Tartu 20 January 2014

1. Mobility

The century of spatial mobility

People

Goods

Raw materials

Ideas

Info

Crime

…

ICT use and spatial mobility – positive correlation

Mobility lab of University of Tartu

Money and spatial mobility – strong positive correlation

Hierarchical system: Moving „up“ to central (bigger) city

P. Taylor et al. 2010 – hierarchical systems have lower competiveness

Commuting area or catchment area of Tallinn

„Escalator regions“

Network – no hierarchy, connections

and choices in same level

M. Castells, 2010 – Networks have higher competiveness

German settlement system:

How to create successful networks, not „centralised systems“ ?

Can ICT be tool to develop functioning networks?

2. ICT and big data

Baltic Urban Forum workshop in Tartu 20 January 2014

Difficult to plan or govern city without understanding ICT

BIG data: Twitter analyses, London

Success of F1 1990: money, car, driver…

Success of F1 2014: money, sensors, analyses…

Urban governance?

Can we really use and benefit from

sensors?

BIG data?

analysis?

3. Business models for BIG data

Smart decisions: data analyses and central decision making ?

Smart decisions in local sensor networks?

Conclusions

Baltic Urban Forum workshop in Tartu 20 January 2014

BIG data as mirror?

Mankind is just trying to look - what is going on?

Thank you!

Mobility lab of University of Tartu:

rein.ahas@ut.ee

http://mobilitylab.ut.ee/eng/