EP 7: Cities, Where Data Lurks

For A Lot You Got to Holler’s first-ever live podcast, we shined a light on the most hidden and obscured element of urbanism that’s changing how we interact with cities in every way: data. Invisible streams of 1’s and 0’s pour out of our transit systems, buildings, and utility infrastructure, and into our smartphones, giving us a more dynamic look at what’s happening in our environment second-by-second. Hosts Zach Mortice and Newcity Design Editor Ben Schulman are joined by Chicago’s own data czar, John Tolva, former City of Chicago Chief Technology Officer and President of Postive Energy Practice, on his last night in town before he moves to Denver with his family. With a crowd of design-lovers at The Chicago Design Museum, Tolva gives his pitch for why we need sensors clipped onto Divvy bikes, and why the snowplow tracker is the city’s most popular website, all before he absconds to the Rockies in a U-Haul full of Chicago’s data! Sponsored by The Chicago Design Museum and MAS Context. Special thanks to recording engineer Tim Joyce.