In Issue 4 of The Urban Observatory Newsletter, published by the UN-Habitat Global Urban Observatory Unit, Dr Rob Harland explores what is meant by ‘urban data’ from the perspective of someone relatively new to this emerging phenomenon. He draws attention to five categories of big data as being:
1. Sensor data on urban infrastructure and moving objects.
2. User data on society and humans.
3. Governmental administration data.
4. Customer and transaction.
5. Arts and humanities data.
In utilising a basic typology of settlement size (as shown in the ABOUT section), he counter-argues for an appreciation of ‘urban small data’ to reflect the rural end of the settlement spectrum. Rob’s argument reminds us of the UN’s pledge to ‘leave no one behind’, by ensuring that we ‘observe’ how people live in all settlement sizes.
To read the full article, download the newsletter directly here, or review all issues on the Urban Observatories website.
* Adapted from: Waugh D. (2000) Geography: an integrated approach, Walton-on-Thames: Nelson. p. 300