Geospatial Big Data and Preventing Violence

Violence, whether it is focused on individuals such as crime or at larger scales such as war, seems to be almost inevitable in our world. However, researchers are asking if it can be prevented and if geospatial big data techniques, including machine learning methods, could potentially be used to prevent violence from going out of control. A recent World Economic Form blog has highlighted varied efforts that attempt to mitigate violence at different scales, with geospatial data often a core feature of different methods discussed in these tools.[1] Two tools have been recently developed that focus on small-scale acts of violence and harassment. Using crowdsourcing and hot spot mapping, Safecity and HarassMap[2] have been created, which depict recent trends of assaults, sexual harassment, and local crime to help individuals determine areas to avoid.