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Researchers at UBDC have moved rapidly to develop a new programme of work, driven both by their knowledge of dat...
Cities around the world are facing enormous challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, not least because they provide environments where the virus may spread particularly rapidly.
There are immediate challenges of maintaining health and other services to cope with population needs but there will also be longer-term challenges in managing the consequences of ‘lockdown’ policies put in place to control the spread of the virus.
In the current crisis, new forms of data have huge potential because of their ability to provide (near) real-time information on the social world, far ahead of the feedback from official statistical sources. They will prove invaluable as policy makers and the public debate how to deal with the consequences of lockdown, how long to retain the current restrictions and how to manage the return to normal freedoms of movement and association.
Researchers at UBDC have moved rapidly to develop a new programme of work, driven both by their knowledge of data availability and by discussions with civic partners about knowledge gaps or analytical requirements. We will be conducting regular analyses of data flows to monitor a range of activities in cities. The Centre’s existing data collection enables this work to begin immediately but we will also be exploring the rapid acquisition of new data to meet known gaps.
Results of this work will be posted here, along with signposts to the work produced by others.
If you are interested in learning more about the work or about how UBDC can help your organisation or have data or resources that you would like to contribute please contact us.
