Geospatial data for real-time city and local statistics and better policy

The purpose of this workshop is to highlight the importance of using new and innovative geospatial data sources and methods to produce real-time city and local statistical indicators for informing place-based policy. Experts will discuss the opportunities that these new forms of data offer as well as the challenges that may arise in terms of facilitating partnership with data providers, structuring solid and replicable methods, and enhancing international comparability. In the workshop, potential pathways to overcome those challenges will also be discussed. The event will be chaired by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) in Korea who will set the scene and introduce the speakers. The first presentation will be delivered by an expert from the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities to provide an overview on the rationale and recent development for incorporating new and innovative data sources to produce timely statistical indicators at local and city-level. This presentation will highlight that conventional data sources traditionally used by Statistical agencies have limitations in terms of capacity to provide real-time and geographically granular evidence and it will shed light on some specific private and public data sources that can be used for policy-relevant applications. The second presentation by MOLIT will highlight how the government has enabled timely statistical evidence during the Covid-19 crisis through data innovation. A third presentation by Statistics Canada will showcase empirical analyses on street imagery has been used to assess traffic flows in cities through open and reproducible pipelines.