EPJ Data Sci. (2015) 4: 16
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjds/s13688-015-0050-4

Editorial

Making big data work: smart, sustainable, and safe cities

¹ Foundation Bruno Kessler, via Sommarive, 18, Trento, 24105, Italy
² Skil-Telecom Italia, via Sommarive 18, Trento, 24105, Italy
³ MIT Media Lab, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

^* e-mail: lepri@fbk.eu

Received: 13 September 2015
Accepted: 21 September 2015
Published online: 16 October 2015

Abstract

The goal of the present thematic series is to showcase some of the most relevant contributions submitted to the ‘Telecom Italia Big Data Challenge 2014’ and to provide a discussion venue about recent advances in the appplication of mobile phone and social media data to the study of individual and collective behaviors. Particular attention is devoted to data-driven studies aimed at understanding city dynamics. These studies include: modeling individual and collective traffic patterns and automatically identifying areas with traffic congestion, creating high-resolution population estimates for Milan inhabitants, clustering urban dynamics of migrants and visitors traveling to a city for business or tourism, and investigating the relationship between urban communication and urban happiness.