Imagine safer streets, better and well-maintained city parks for you and your kids to play around in?
All of the above created by using precise data analytics and enhancing people’s lives.
That's the goal for the City of Coquitlam with its launch of a new two-year pilot project.
The municipality is partnering with tech firm UrbanLogiq to help turn data into real-world solutions for safer streets, a thriving local economy, and more enjoyable public spaces.
As part of Project Greenlight, a procurement platform that fast-tracks civic innovations, the collaboration is hoping to find tangible improvements in road safety, economic vibrancy and recreational enjoyment, a news release noted.
The company, which was founded in 2016 with a mission to break down data silos in government, has developed a platform to help communities transform complex data into easy-to-understand visual formats that provide new, usable insights.
"We are incredibly excited about partnering with the City of Coquitlam. Our core mission at UrbanLogiq has always been to unlock the potential of cities through data-driven insights," said UrbanLogiq CEO and co-founder Mark Masongsong in a statement.
"This collaboration allows us to apply our advanced analytics to create real-world benefits. By teaming up with a forward-thinking city like Coquitlam, we're not just envisioning a better future; we're actively building it."
Burnaby, Toronto and San Jose are some of the other municipalities working with UrbanLogiq.
Coquitlam's three-part mandate with the pilot program includes:
Safer Streets
- With the help of up-to-date data analytics, they hope to make your daily commute safer. The adoption of the company’s Crash Analysis Tool will enable staff to leverage five years of detailed crash data to identify hazardous locations and conditions, which will allow the city to proactively address these hotspots. Whether it’s a problematic intersection or a stretch of road that’s particularly dangerous, this initiative aims to pinpoint and mitigate risks, ensuring safer streets.
Boosting Local Businesses
- By merging up-to-date census data with local business licensing information, the city aims to assess and enhance the vitality of retail and commercial areas in the area.
- Additionally, staff can evaluate the economic impact of large events by analyzing spending patterns, which could offer insights for further business strategies.
- “The City of Coquitlam’s recently approved Economic Development Strategy lists several key actions to attract, grow and support our local business community,”said City of Coquitlam's acting manager of Economic Development, Eric Kalnins, in a statement.
- "We look forward to partnering with UrbanLogiq to consolidate, visualize and analyze local data in order to encourage new investment and build sustainable economic clusters.”
More Enjoyable Public Spaces
- The Park and Site Visitation Analysis Tool will utilize data to measure the volume of visitors to the city parks, enabling better resource management and planning assistance.
"This comprehensive approach highlights the transformative power of strategic alliances," said John McPherson at the Vancouver Economic Commission.
"As cities like Coquitlam set the benchmark, it offers a vivid blueprint for other cities to holistically enhance economic vibrancy and well-being."
