Brian Platt

1. Predictive Analytics
and Data in City
Government
Brian Platt
Director, Jersey City Office of Innovation
BPlatt@jcnj.org
@BrianDavidPlatt @briandavidplatt

2. SOURCE: U.S. Census Data 2
Jersey City is a unique, diverse, growing city
General
+6% since 2010
17,700 people/ sq mi
Down 5% since 2010
Diversity
37% white
24% Asian
(10% Asian Indian)
49% male, 51% female
25% black 41% foreign born
29% Hispanic
(overlaps with others)
Wealth, income, and education
$60,497 median household
income
19% poverty rate
85% high school graduates
(age 25+)
$84,267 mean household
income
44.3% bachelors degree
(age 25+)
Miscellaneous
38% do not own a car
78% households with
broadband internet
33.4 median age
86% households own a
computer
38% housing stock built
before 1940
47% utilize public transit
for work
Population: 262,000
Unemployment: 4.1%1
Land Area : 14.8 sq mi

3. 3
Leveraging technology to improve quality of life in Jersey City has
been a priority but not always easy
Transitioning to a data and technology driven administration
Marginal use of technology to
improve workflow
Demonstrate value of tech
through smaller projects
Minimal use of data to inform
decision making
Created new reporting
structures
Many legacy paper-based
processes
Built basic “data portal”

4. 4
The key critical question that framed our approach
How do we use data and
technology to improve:
 quality of life
 operational efficiency

5. 5
Early efforts resulted in simple but powerful tools
First iteration of data analysis tools

6. 6
Our data portal is improving and expanding, as is our understanding
and usage of data
http://data.jerseycitynj.gov
Police calls for service map Shooting Incidents (2015)
Affordable Housing Navigator Tax abatements (raw data)

7. 7
Other Jersey City Technology Inclusive Projects
We are leveraging technology to improve quality of life and
operational efficiency in different ways
Project
Smart Cities Plan
Mobile Devices for Inspectors
Body Worn Cameras
CRM app (SeeClickFix)
Category
Data and Information
Workflow Improvement
Public Safety
Communication
Status
Early stages
In progress
Final stages
First version launched

8. 8
Police dispatch data provided interesting opportunities for analysis
and providing important and relevant information
Police dispatch data overview
10-20k rows of data monthly
Real time data updates
Rich, comprehensive event
details
Minimal ETLs/data cleaning
required

9. 9
Public Safety Alerts Tool partnership overview
Partnership formed with Google, OpenJC, and Jersey City to create an
automated alerts tool to inform the public of safety issues
Jersey City to provide data
and administrative support
Local civic tech community
group to build the product
Google Ideas (now Jigsaw) to
provide $250,000 grant plus
additional guidance
Public Safety Alerts Tool

10. 10
Alert System Overview
Analysis of non-violent
activity to create hyper
local 6 month averages
Any activity outside
threshold levels prompts
alert (see right)
Area of concern
customized based on
user-defined location
Python language
Twilio texting interface
Pandas Analytics
Amazon Web Service host
All Open Source
Z-scores of varying
significance
Predictability model
Structure and technical specifications Text Message Alerts
System architecture
Algorithms
The text alert system is still currently in development as we work to
improve the accuracy of the predictability model

11. 11
Community involvement and feedback has been critical to success
Community Involvement and Pilot Communities
South Greenville
Berry Hill and
Claremont
Paulus Hook
Washington Park
Association

12. 12
Jersey City is partnering with Google/Waze to improve traffic and
navigation systems
“Is this the best use of this data?”
Automatic uploads to map
Transition to google form
Paper based permit process
Street Closure MapStreet Closure Permit Process Improvements

13. SOURCES: www.waze.com/livemap; waze navigation 13
waze Integration
Street closure data now fully integrates with waze navigation systems
Street closure map
JSON feed waze integration
Closure permitGoogle form
While waze already allows
users to report closures,
Jersey City is now proactively
adding all known closures
before users hit the streets

14. PLEASE STAY IN TOUCH
Brian Platt
BPlatt@jcnj.org
@BrianDavidPlatt
@briandavidplatt