How Docomo Plans To Use Mobile Data For City Planning & Earthquake Preparation

NTT Docomo recently announced a research project that would see it track the collective movements of mobile phone users in Tokyo, aggregating spatial data that could be used for a number of purposes. This mobile spatial statistics endeavor focuses on two pretty fascinating projects:

1. Urban Planning

First, analyzing spatial cell phone data in metropolitan areas can greatly help with future city planning. A Docomo representative tells us that the University of Tokyo had been conducting research in this field that would benefit greatly from Docomo’s mobile spatial stats. The company subsequently approached the University for a joint research project.

Docomo will be estimating the shift in population distribution over time in Kashiwa City, in Chiba Prefecture. Then the University of Tokyo researchers are to examine the relations between these shifts and suggest how the information could be used for better urban planning.

2. Earthquake Preparation

The second use case addresses a very serious problem that Tokyo residents saw on the night of the tragic March 11th earthquake. On that evening, thousands of commuters were stranded away from home after the city’s trains were stopped.

But Docomo says that by tracking the daily commute of people all over the city, we can approximate how many people would not be able to return home after an earthquake strikes. Kogakuin University is to analyze the data as well as the conditions in specific areas, and then identify any possible problems that might arise as a result.

Docomo says preparations could then be made by the metropolitan government so that it is ready for such a situation:

• We can see the size and number of the accommodation facilities available for disaster victims who have difficulties returning home.
• We can prepare support stations for the victims who have difficulties returning home and lay out optimum roads for that purpose.
• We can offer alternative routes or transportation for those who have difficulties returning home.

Privacy and Openness

For any individuals concerned about their movements being tracked, the company explains:

The mobile spatial statistics are aggregate data about mobile phone locations and user attributes. In our use of these statistics, individual users are never identified.