Happy New Year!
2020 was a challenging year, to say the least. Yet despite unprecedented demands, we’re proud to say that the UrbanFootprint team accomplished a lot.
From forming new partnership and collaborations to taking our platform in new directions to help address the COVID-19 crisis head on, to doubling down with our customers to focus on building more sustainable, equitable and resilient communities, it was a year focused on managing significant change.
Check out below for some highlights from 2020. While the new year has gotten off to a rough start, we’re hopeful of what’s to come and look forward to more progress and more impact in 2021!
We expanded our platform to address our country’s most pressing needs.
As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, highlighting our nation’s health, social and economic inequities along with it, we expanded our platform from its urban planning roots into a more comprehensive Urban Intelligence Platform to help federal, state and local agencies and policymakers, frontline organizations, urban planners, enterprises, and academic institutions better prepare for and respond to the impacts of COVID-19 in their communities.
We quickly stood up new dynamic data products to map and evaluate social vulnerability, economic stress, health risk, food security, and eviction and foreclosure risk. We’ve introduced new Community Resilience and Climate Risk indices to support disaster response, resource distribution, and infrastructure investment and prioritization. We analyzed and mapped how communities across the U.S. were being impacted by the pandemic and natural disasters on the ground.
We dug into:
- Medical emergency response: Where medical equipment capacity could be expanded quickly in the U.S to respond to COVID-19 hotspots.
- Unemployment: Which communities were hit hardest by the largest spike in joblessness in U.S. history.
- Food insecurity: Where accessibility to food was most impacted across the U.S. and in the state of Louisiana in particular, done in partnership with the Center for Planning Excellence to help local policymakers and relief organizations on the ground.
- Homelessness risk: Where homeowners and renters have been at risk of foreclosure or eviction amid a growing housing and economic crisis.
- COVID-19 hotspots: Where early indicators showed the highest likelihood of outbreaks across the country, done in partnership with Kinsa.
We were recognized as a top provider of insight to government and enterprises in key publications and resource guides…
…by Government Technology and Governing.
We partnered with NASA!
We’re ready for take-off! NASA selected UrbanFootprint as a key software partner to support their Urban Airspace Mapping program.
As part of this initiative, we are working with NASA to support airspace operations and safety by developing a comprehensive industry-standard 3D Urban Airspace Map. Our data, analysis, and mapping capability can assist in the siting of critical ‘vertiports’ (air-vehicle takeoff and landing pads) and aerial route planning.
We supported a bold, new urban agenda for post-pandemic recovery…
…set forth by the Rocky Mountain Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies in their report, Coming Back Stronger. In it, the mapping and analytics capabilities of the UrbanFootprint platform were used to evaluate numerous scenarios in key sectors, ultimately to develop a strategy for achieving cleaner, and more resilient, equitable communities.
Our data insights and our story were covered by major news outlets!
Check us out in: PBS NewsHour, CNN, CNBC, Forbes, NBC News, Axios, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Smart Cities Dive, Government Technology, Silicon Valley Business Journal, The Advocate, L.A. Biz and so much more.
We launched exciting new partnerships with industry and impact leaders.
We are partnering with some of the most innovative companies and organizations in the country, including transportation software provider Replica, and cutting edge smart thermometer and health data provider Kinsa. We also kicked off partnerships with Streetlight Data, Spin Scooters and Safegraph, and dug deep into COVID response and economic recovery with Louisiana’s Center for Planning Excellence.
