Pexels contributor
06 / Civic technology
Data beneath our feet
Sensors, resident memory, and signals that make a city more responsive.
The central idea
Not all data looks like a number
Vibration, floor temperature, queues, and resident stories are sensors. A responsive city brings technical evidence and everyday experience together.
Pexels contributor
Infrastructure below the city and an editorial illustration of a practitioner reading its signals. — Pexels contributor · Pexels contributor
Data gains meaning when it returns to the people who helped produce it.
Numbers to begin with
Enough signal to act
3 layers
sensors, observation, and resident stories
7 days
feedback loop for a rapid prototype
0
raw personal records that need to be retained
Measure
Use only as much sensing as needed.
Listen
Join numbers with resident experience.
Return
Share results in language people can use.