Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures of Urban Life

Edward Glaeser, Scott Kominers, Michael Luca and Nikhil Naik

No 21778, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: New, “big” data sources allow measurement of city characteristics and outcome variables higher frequencies and finer geographic scales than ever before. However, big data will not solve large urban social science questions on its own. Big data has the most value for the study of cities when it allows measurement of the previously opaque, or when it can be coupled with exogenous shocks to people or place. We describe a number of new urban data sources and illustrate how they can be used to improve the study and function of cities. We first show how Google Street View images can be used to predict income in New York City, suggesting that similar image data can be used to map wealth and poverty in previously unmeasured areas of the developing world. We then discuss how survey techniques can be improved to better measure willingness to pay for urban amenities. Finally, we explain how Internet data is being used to improve the quality of city services.

JEL-codes: C18 C55 C80 C83 R10 R11 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published as Edward L. Glaeser & Scott Duke Kominers & Michael Luca & Nikhil Naik, 2016. "BIG DATA AND BIG CITIES: THE PROMISES AND LIMITATIONS OF IMPROVED MEASURES OF URBAN LIFE," Economic Inquiry, .

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Related works:
Journal Article: BIG DATA AND BIG CITIES: THE PROMISES AND LIMITATIONS OF IMPROVED MEASURES OF URBAN LIFE (2018)
Working Paper: Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures for Urban Life (2015)
Working Paper: Big Data and Big Cities: The Promises and Limitations of Improved Measures of Urban Life (2015)
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