CityWays: A New Perspective on Urban Movement

Hyemi Song's Award-Winning Data Visualization Project

With fitness tracking applications installed on 60% of smartphones and a market projected to reach $800 million by 2020, the individual benefits of these apps are well known. However, the aggregated data they produce has been largely unexplored for understanding urban dynamics. CityWays steps into this gap, using this rich data source to reveal patterns in human recreational activities and quantify the effects of environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation.

CityWays is not just a data visualization project; it's a tool for urban planning and policy-making. By identifying factors that influence pedestrian activities, CityWays provides insights that could lead to a redefinition of static metrics of walkability and inform street design and zoning policies. The project demonstrates the potential of data from personal tracking applications to contribute to more human-centered urban design, grounded in actual data.

The CityWays web application allows users to explore the data and draw their own conclusions about seasonal trip trends in cities, particularly Boston and San Francisco. The application, which includes a map and dashboard, offers a deep dive into the data, fostering user engagement and promoting a broader understanding of urban dynamics.

The project, which was carried out at the MIT Senseable City Lab in collaboration with Liberty Mutual, began in December 2016 and concluded in August 2017. The team faced the challenge of finding factors that affect pedestrian activities and redefining metrics of walkability in a city. The use of data from personal tracking applications was a game-changer, enabling the team to understand how a diverse group of people move around an urban space and what key factors influence their movement.

In conclusion, CityWays is a pioneering project that leverages the power of data visualization to shed light on urban movement patterns. By tapping into the wealth of data generated by fitness tracking applications, Hyemi Song and her team have created a tool that could transform urban planning and design. The project's success is a testament to the potential of data-driven approaches to address complex urban challenges.