In 2024, the Co-Founder of New York University’s Governance Lab posited a chilling question: “Are we entering a Data Winter?”
In his Medium article, Stefaan Verhulst pointed to the growing scarcity of once openly available private-sector datasets for research and public benefit. While the article focused on social-media data and private-sector climate data, a similar trend has been evident in the mobility data space as data-sharing programs launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ceased offering data for academic research and public policy.
In contrast, Cuebiq’s commitment to providing ethically sourced data for public benefit remains strong. In fact, we are doubling down on our efforts to use big data to solve big challenges with our Social Impact program.
Having migrated our privacy-preserving data platform to Snowflake’s powerful Snowsight workspace, Cuebiq is empowering researchers to access, explore, and analyze mobility data in a secure, scalable, and collaborative environment.
From research on natural disasters and air pollution to supporting an open-data challenge for international development, Cuebiq is proud to provide mobility data for social good. Here are just a few recent research initiatives of note where Cuebiq data has helped…
Intersection of Air Pollution Exposure and Inequality
The fine particulate matter produced by combustible and fossil fuels is linked to increased mortality from respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and lung cancer. However, traditional studies to measure human exposure to air pollution typically focus on where people live without taking into account people’s exposure to unhealthy air as they move throughout the day, whether walking, commuting, or exercising.
Researchers at MIT’s Senseable Cities Lab combined Cuebiq data and census data with street-level air-quality sensor data in the Bronx borough of New York City. Their findings indicate populations from Hispanic-majority and low income neighborhoods are disproportionately exposed to fine particulate matter. Additionally, their study found that ethnicity was a better predictor of exposure compared to income.
Mobility Patterns During Natural Disasters
Awareness of how populations respond to natural disasters is critical to preparedness and response efforts, and multiple studies have utilized Cuebiq data to analyze mobility behaviors during natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. In a recent publication in Nature Scientific Reports, researchers from the University of Florida develop nuanced insight into the mobility characteristics of communities affected by Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Florida in September 2022.
By segmenting the population during times of normality into ‘returners’ (those who regularly visit a limited number of locations) and ‘explorers’ (those who visit a wider range of diverse locations), the researchers demonstrated that both groups maintained their mobility characteristics before, during, and after the hurricane. Using these classifications allow officials to better prepare for and respond to the unique mobility tendencies of returner or explorer communities likely to be affected by natural disasters.
Privacy-Preserving Data for International Development
In addition to supporting research and public-benefit use cases in the United States and Canada, Cuebiq is committed to enabling access to critical data insights for economic development and poverty reduction programs in the Global South. Building on Cuebiq’s long-standing partnership with The World Bank, we sponsored a data challenge at the 2024 edition of NetMob, the premier conference on the analysis of mobile phone datasets.
World Bank researchers prepared these datasets within Snowflake’s Snowsight workspace, using its SQL and Python tools to analyze and aggregate the data in a secure, governed environment.
Hosted at the World Bank Headquarters in October 2024, the NetMob data challenge provides researchers with pro-bono access to highly aggregated, privacy-preserving international datasets. With projects ranging from sustainable transportation to natural disaster response, we are proud to be filling a critical gap for mobility insights in the Global South.
Sustaining Progress with “Data For Good”
Continued access to high-quality mobility data is crucial to sustaining cutting-edge research and policy in areas such as disaster response and urban development. To remain at the fore of the “Data for Good” movement within the mobility data industry, Cuebiq adheres to three core principles of responsible data sharing:
Provenance: Cuebiq solely collects data from users who actively opt-in to anonymized data sharing for research purposes.
Privacy: In addition to anonymizing our data, we apply patented privacy-enhancing technologies and abide by sensitive points of interest policy to protect the privacy of users who entrust Cuebiq with their data. Moreover, researchers access Cuebiq data through Cuebiq’s Snowflake-enabled Data Platform, which allows them to query granular data while solely exporting privacy-preserving aggregate outputs in return.
Accessibility: In addition to offering discounted access to our data for research purposes, we provide a select number of pro-bono accounts annually to organizations that create profound social impact, and develop innovative open-source solutions for the geospatial community.
By upholding these principles, Cuebiq remains committed to supporting the ethical use of mobility data for research and the common good.
Interested in partnering with our Social Impact program? Contact us, and we’ll schedule a quick discovery call.
