Optimizing Singapore

IBM dispatched a team to Ho Chi Minh City on a charity mission to see if they could optimize the city of nine million people with infrastructural improvements. Jebediah Reed talks with IBM's team leader.

1 minute read

June 6, 2010, 7:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Traffic was the first issue the IBM folks tackled. The team used cell phone data to create maps of traffic flow.

"By looking at a cross section of the data in real-time, you can figure out the speed and direction of traffic and predict choke points up to an hour ahead of time. Then traffic cops can start rerouting some of those vehicles, and avert gridlock."

Transit is also big on IBM's recommendation list.

"Currently, the public transportation system is nothing short of abysmal: The routes are bad; the schedules are bad; and the buses - public transport in HCM City is pretty much limited to buses - are 'filthy' and 'unhygienic.'"

FULL STORY: Turning Crowded, Inefficient Cities Into ‘Smart Cities,’ the Corporate Way

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 in The Infrastructurist

Infrastructure World IBM Ho Chi Minh City

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.