The key to a megacity: Information

Abstract

The key to a megacity: InformationA recent addition to aggregating mobile, social, and location is Ushahidi, a platform that unifies data gathered from multiple sources (SMS, email, web) and distributes it onto a visual map or timeline. This technology was used to track the 'Snowmaggedon' storm in Washington D.C. last winter as well as tracking the progress of voting in India and the movement of swine flu across a map area. Most notably, this technology is being used for post-crisis information in Haiti. It is an open-source platform, which allows developers to see behind the technology and build additional features upon it. The site is rich in documentation to allow users to customize it for specific tasks. 1 -American Red Cross, The case for integrating crisis response with social media Rescue personnel will need to have information beyond what a two-dimensional grid coordinate can provide. Otherwise time will be lost in trying to determine where in a multi-story building individuals in need are located. 2