Uploaded on 2015-04-17 by joergfirnkorn

[1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14292301509197415.jpg 1. This is a photo from downtown San Francisco during rush hour 2. Invisible information: First, in the pictures it is invisible how many people are in each car. Making this invisible information visible (e.g. through traffic surveys) would be valuable to estimate the improvement ride-sharing programs (= incentives for people to share a ride in a car) could bring to the city. Second, in the picture it is invisible why everybody takes a car whereas the perfectly clean, broad, safe, light sidewalk is used by nobody. What is the motivation of people? Status symbols (car), convenience, safety? Making this invisible information visible would help to improve urban planning. 3. Choice of invisible information: the number of people in the cars is invisible. In order to transform this invisible information to knowledge traffic survey would help - by asking a sample of the population for the number of people (drivers + co-drivers) in their car. This information could then contribute to the planning of a more livable urban space - for example by the policy decision to establish carpool-lanes only (either always active or only during rush hour), so that people sharing a ride in a car can move faster through the traffic jam. If everybody was alone in the cars in the picture, half the cars would be required to move everyone simultaneously if only 2 persons share one vehicle. However, the effectiveness of a carpool-lane can only be estimated if the invisible information "car occupancy" is made visible.