Category: Analytics

London transport’s overcrowding: what’s causing it & can we solve it with data?

As featured in CapGemini Business Analytics Blog

London’s transport overcrowding has become so pervasive that it has been cited as London’s #2 biggest issue – after the housing crisis, of course, but the two are heavily inter-related. It factored into every mayoral candidate’s manifesto in a big way, and impacts on each of us who calls this sprawling city home or travels through it.

In this article, I look into how bad the issue has become, assess some of its causes, and finally outline some ideas about what can be done to resolve it for the future.

Continue reading “London transport’s overcrowding: what’s causing it & can we solve it with data?”

by Elizabeth Martin

Half-marathon network maps

I ran a half-marathon last weekend! It was tough but I think the great thing about running is that you can see so much improvement if you’re prepared to put in some good preparation (using data of course!) combined with a healthy dose of motivation. I felt that the race I entered was dominated by regular runners with very few casual participants (except for me!), so I was interested to investigate: is there a pattern to which races are selected by regulars, and is there a “circuit” that regular marathon-runners prefer? Continue reading “Half-marathon network maps”

by Elizabeth Martin

Is London really too dominant a capital city?

Various reports have bemoaned London’s dominance within the UK. Helen Lewis of the Guardian recently stated “the capital’s uncontrolled growth has given it a dominance that damages the rest of the country” (http://gu.com/p/4g7f5/stw). This bloating of London has been most publicised in terms of house prices, with students topically claiming to have been “priced out” of our capital, and others too. All this made me wonder if this phenomenon is true elsewhere, or are we being UK-centric in thinking this challenge is unique to our country? Continue reading “Is London really too dominant a capital city?”

by Elizabeth Martin

Why do we need more market data in real estate?

Before getting onto the rationale behind publishing more market data, and having spent the first few years of my career building financial models based on such market data for banks & lenders, I thought I’d start by giving a brief introduction to modelling for those who are not familiar – it’s not as complicated as you might think! Continue reading “Why do we need more market data in real estate?”

by Elizabeth Martin