Information, Indicators and Open Data

March 6, 2012

Eugenie L. Birch Nussdorf Professor and Co-Director Penn Institute for Urban Research University of Pennsylvania

Types and Uses of Information

Public and Private Decision-making

Diagnostic Base-line Performance comparables Value Proposition/Cost-Benefit Progress toward targets (benchmarks) Progress toward goals (indicators) Education

Diagnostics
LOCAL LAWS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK FOR THE YEAR 2009 ____________________________ No. 84 _________________________ BENCHMARKING ENERGY AND WATER USE 28-309.1 General. The energy and water use of city buildings and covered buildings shall be benchmarked in accordance with this article. COVERED BUILDING. As it appears in the records of the department of finance: (i) a building that exceeds 50,000 gross square feet

Benchmarking Lighting upgrade Audit and retro-commissioning 28-309.8 Disclosure. The department of

28-309.9 Report. No later than

December 31 of 2011, office of long-term planning and sustainability shall prepare, submit to the mayor and the speaker of the city council, and post on the internet a report reviewing and evaluating the administration and enforcement of this article and analyzing data obtained from the benchmarking tool.

finance shall make information generated .available to the public on the internet no later than September 1, 2011, .Such information shall include, but need not be limited to: (i) the energy utilization index, (ii) the water use per gross square foot, (iii) where available, a rating that compares the energy and water use of the building to that of similar buildings, and (iv) a comparison of data across calendar years for any years such building was benchmarked.

Base-line / Performance Measures/ Comparables

Progress toward targets APEC 45% Reduction Energy Intensity by 2030

Progress toward goals (indicators)

Partnership for Sustainable Communities Livability Principles
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Provide more transportation choices. Promote equitable, affordable housing. Enhance economic competitiveness. Support existing communities. Coordinate policies & leverage investment. Value communities and neighborhoods. Transportation Choice Housing Affordability Economic Resilience Growth Through Reinvestment Equitable Development

Education
Make the price of a megawatt of electricity as familiar a metric as the cost of the barrel of oil

A Few Issues
Are we measuring the right things?
Is the data SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant)? Just what kind of indicator are we using (pressure, state, response)? How do we integrate qualitative data into analyses?

How does the presence of data in some areas and the lack of data in other areas affect decisions?
How to Lie with Statistics vs. evidence-based research Who articulates and poses the questions and subsequent answers AND interprets the data i.e. who sets priorities?

What is the cost of securing, managing, curating data, who does it, who and how do we pay for it?
proprietorial vs open source tensions Equity questions: GIS mapping of slums