Urban Sensor Data Streams: London 2013

It is posited that, through the integration of data services in cities can be transformed. In particular, it is thought that pervasive and ubiquitous networked embedded sensing systems can contribute to this transformation. This can be achieved through the exploitation of resultant sensor data stream. In order to effectively consider this hypothesis, it is necessary to investigate and understand the current art of pervasive and ubiquitous sensing in the city, and the resultant data streams. We provide an objective summary review of the urban sensing landscape, across multiple services and sectors. The scope of the review is limited to the city of London, which is often regarded as one of the most technologically advanced and digitized cities in the World. We catalogue the technological, spatiotemporal and representational characteristics of these open real-world sensor data streams, and how they came to existence.