March 2020 Summaries

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sharp increase in online grocery shopping, with over 40% of UK adults buying more items online than usual. To cope with this surge, retailers are implementing various systems and policies, including virtual queueing, restricted usage for healthcare workers and vulnerable customers, and limiting new customer signups. However, the biggest constraint is not the number of vans or drivers, but rather the capacity in customer fulfillment centers. Spatial optimization can help by decreasing the number of routes and increasing deliveries, allowing retailers to better manage their supply chain networks. This can be achieved through various techniques, such as on-demand last-mile delivery, territory definition, and supply chain network design, which can help retailers adapt to changing consumer behavior and prepare for the post-COVID-19 era.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented stress, anxiety, and grief, but it also highlights the importance of community efforts and geospatial technology. Frederik Filz von Reiterdank, a student at Oxford University, was motivated to start #StudentsAgainstCorona after struggling to get groceries to his grandmother due to lockdowns. The platform, which consists of two parts, allows volunteers and those in need to connect and for local authorities to source matching volunteers based on specific criteria and locations. With over 1,000 volunteers across 12 cities and 9 countries, the platform is rapidly scaling its operations to support vulnerable individuals, especially the elderly and high-risk groups, during this challenging time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on human mobility, with lockdown policies implemented in many countries to slow the spread of the virus. Analyzing human mobility data from Italy, researchers found that the average distance traveled by province decreased significantly after the first restrictive measures were implemented, correlating with the start of lockdown. The analysis also revealed a positive correlation between average traveled distances above 25 km and the risk of infection, highlighting the importance of limiting human mobility in controlling the spread of the virus. The study's findings suggest that recent mobility patterns should be included in epidemiological models to predict the evolution of the epidemic.

The Community of Madrid, in collaboration with technology companies including CARTO, ForceManager, mendesaltaren, Telefónica Ferrovial, and Google, has developed a new web and mobile application called AsistenciaCovid19 to help combat the spread of COVID-19. The app allows citizens to self-evaluate symptoms, providing clear advice and relieving pressure on health systems, while also enabling local authorities to visualize infections on an interactive map and perform geospatial analysis to determine high-risk areas. CARTO's technology is being used in the backend to capture and analyze this data, allowing governments to act faster in hotspots and track the evolution of cases over time. The app will initially be available for citizens of Madrid before being rolled out to the rest of Spain, with all data collected being encrypted and stored securely with citizens having complete control over its usage.

The Meetup platform, with over 40 million members and 320,000 groups, plays a significant role in facilitating community events around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on these smaller-scale events, with a notable decline in attendance in countries such as China, Japan, and Italy. An analysis of RSVP data from Meetup revealed a correlation between the drop-off in event participation and the location of confirmed cases of Coronavirus. This study highlights the importance of using alternative data, such as Meetup data, to understand economic impact earlier than official reports. The findings also underscore the potential of Location Intelligence to help organizations understand the real-time impact of the pandemic on their business.

CARTO + Kepler.gl: Two Tools, One Workflow` is a collaboration between `CARTO` and `Kepler.gl`, an open-source geospatial data visualization tool. This integration aims to simplify workflows for users of both tools by enabling seamless sharing, saving, and management of maps across platforms. The partnership builds upon the shared commitment to Open Source Open Data and Open Science between the two organizations. With this integration, users can now share maps via a public URL, save them privately in `CARTO`, load them back into `Kepler.gl`, and manage all their maps in one place, improving productivity and reducing time spent on routine tasks.

CARTO, a geospatial data visualization platform, is making its software available for free to public and private sector organizations fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's grants program will provide access to its platform, enabling organizations to create maps that bring together different streams of open data and leverage information from the Data Observatory. Grants have already been approved for various projects, including those from healthcare organizations, governments, media outlets, and individuals, aiming to increase awareness, optimize resource allocation, and support decision-making efforts in the fight against COVID-19. Organizations can apply for access to CARTO's platform through its grants page, which promises to review and approve applications within 2 working days and provide support throughout the process.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on the world, with widespread cancellations of events and conferences due to travel bans and health concerns. The economic cost is estimated to be around $666 million, with visualizations showing areas likely to see the biggest impact in terms of loss. Events are being postponed or cancelled, but online-only conferences are also becoming more common, and companies are taking measures such as installing thermal scanners and banning handshaking. Visualizing event data can help measure the economic impact and determine where to focus efforts to mitigate the downturn. The International Monetary Fund has announced $50 billion in funding for countries affected by the pandemic.

The partnership between CARTO and Doorda aims to provide trusted business-ready data for the whole of the UK, offering a unique competitive advantage to clients. Doorda's datasets, including sociodemographics, occupation data, health data, crime records, household income, property data, are now available in the CARTO Data Observatory, allowing users to accelerate insight and innovation. The collaboration enables users to focus on analysis and decision-making without the repeated cost and risk of finding and preparing data. This partnership is expected to benefit various use cases, such as targeted marketing, business risk analysis, health analysis for insurance models, retail location planning, and more. By analyzing Doorda data with CARTO technology, users can gain insights into the evolution of residential property in cities like London, understanding the impact of government initiatives on property prices and crime rates.