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Sean Thornton

Data-Smart City Solutions

Sean Thornton is a Program Advisor for the Civic Analytics Network at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and writer for Ash Center publication Data-Smart City Solutions. Based in Chicago, Sean holds joint Masters’ degrees from the University of Chicago in Public Policy and Social Service Administration. His work has spanned the city's public, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors.

Analytics

What is Chicago’s Array of Things Initiative?

The project to collect real-time data on Chicago's environment and urban activity launched in 2016 and continues to evolve.

January 03, 2018
· Sean Thornton
Analytics

Chicago Turns to Predictive Analytics to Map West Nile Threat

Monitoring virus-laden mosquitoes is nothing new, but forecasting their next move through predictive modeling is.

October 25, 2017
· Sean Thornton
Using Data Analytics to Make Chicago’s Beach Water Safer

How analytic data has shaped the tone of Chicago's beaches.

September 12, 2017
· Sean Thornton
Infrastructure

On Chicago's Goose Island, 'City Digital' Accelerates Smart City Innovation

Goose Island is transitioning from an industrial hub to a tech-focused one.

June 28, 2017
· Sean Thornton
Infrastructure

The Internet of Things Changes Chicago’s Approach to Urban Design

Measurements and metrics are essential to becoming a smart city, and IoT sensors provide the key to do this in real-time.

June 09, 2015
· Sean Thornton
Digital Communities

Predictive Analytics Optimize Chicago’s Food Inspection Process

Using an analytics-based method, Chicago discovered critical violations earlier than if it had used the traditional inspection procedure.

May 20, 2015
· Sean Thornton
Open Data as an Accountability Tool: Chicago’s Problem Landlord List

Chicago’s latest major data set release is a list and map of “problem landlords,” or residential building owners across the city that have racked up numerous citations for failing to provide tenants with basic services and protections.

February 24, 2015
· Sean Thornton
Data-Driven Strategy and Innovation for a Healthier Chicago

With continued—and even formalized—relationships between individuals, organizations and sectors, the city's data-driven innovations could transform how governments handle public health issues, both internally and externally.

October 16, 2014
· Sean Thornton
Building a Framework for Chicago's Data Ecosystem

The Chicago School of Data is less of an academic discipline and more of a method for cooperative, data-driven progress united by one key principle—that data, as public good, is one that is at the service of all people.

September 05, 2014
· Sean Thornton
Justice and Public Safety

Chicago Hacks its Way to Mobile-Friendly Public Safety Apps

At Chicago's Safer Communities hackathon, developers were tasked with making public safety apps more accessible via mobile devices.

June 07, 2013
· Sean Thornton