How does a city work?

An interesting article from Government Computer News about the use of analytic software to discover the relationships between a city's core information systems that handle the economy, housing, education, public safety. The aim is to help planners make better policy decisions.


How does public transportation affect education? What impact does population density have on public health? Is there a connection between CO2 levels and obesity?

Officials in the City of Portland, Ore., have collaborated with IBM to find answers to those and other questions, developing an interactive model that connects the relationships between the city’s core systems that handle the economy, housing, education, public safety, transportation and health care.

The computer simulation lets Portland’s leaders see how city systems work together, how environmental and other factors relate to each other and project the likely results of actions under consideration.

For full story click on link above.