Ideas change everything

How we found the worst place to park in New York City -- using big data

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Ben Wellington |

TEDxNewYork

• November 2014

City agencies have access to a wealth of data and statistics reflecting every part of urban life. But as data analyst Ben Wellington suggests in this entertaining talk, sometimes they just don't know what to do with it. He shows how a combination of unexpected questions and smart data crunching can produce strangely useful insights, and shares tips on how to release large sets of data so that anyone can use them.

City agencies have access to a wealth of data and statistics reflecting every part of urban life. But as data analyst Ben Wellington suggests in this entertaining talk, sometimes they just don't know what to do with it. He shows how a combination of unexpected questions and smart data crunching can produce strangely useful insights, and shares tips on how to release large sets of data so that anyone can use them.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxNewYork, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

About the speaker

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Ben Wellington blends his love of statistics, the city, and comedy in his entertaining analysis of the story of New York City, told through data.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxNewYork, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.