Big Data for Urban Health and Well-Being

This chapter examines the potential for big data in improving urban health and well-being, in the face of the ageing of global society and the rise in real healthcare costs. It looks at how more use of big data could help solve these and other health challenges, then gives actual or planned examples of its use in healthcare. The Quantified Self movement, discussed next, could prove a forerunner of a more general move to greater patient involvement in monitoring their personal health. The data would come from various apps on their smart phones, wearable devices, or body sensors. The chapter stresses the connection with the transport and energy chapters, given the role of these two sectors in urban air pollution, UHI and global warming and for transport, traffic-related casualties. As a specific example, a case study of a design of an instrumented chair (‘Virtual Spine’) to improve spinal health and general well-being is included.