Open Data Visualization Tool Challenges Traditional GIS
Former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will work with municipalities to show how DriveDecisions can combine open data, visualize it in 3D, and improve decision-making for urban development
December 11, 2014
Government has a data problem.
Cities, states and counties treat their data as if it were an alien relic. They know there’s something powerful inside, but they don’t know how to get it out. And rather than mastering this alien technology themselves, they depend on the help of others. Countless apps have been created by outsourcing the data problem to the public, so while it’s a productive approach, it’s also the chaotic silver-medal tact of someone who has given up on controlling his or her own destiny.
Government can do better.
Luis Borrero, founder of a startup that created the data visualization platform DriveDecisions and Chair of Land Use and Transportation at the Seattle Planning Commission, wants governments to take their data into their own hands. In November, former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn joined the company as public-sector advocate. McGinn said he was so impressed by what the platform can do that he lamented not knowing about it when he was in office.
DRiVEdecisions: Open Data In Virtual Reality
November 26, 2014
Think about your local bus stop. When you imagine it, you see it as a place. You can see the intersection and the trees and the bus shelter. It isn’t just a pin on a map.
But, the way we look at almost all data these days, is in the latter context. We don’t see data in its place. We see it as pins on a map, bars on a graph, lines in a spreadsheet. And, in so doing, we are losing the context around our data.
DRiVEdecisions puts spatial context around open data through the use of virtual environments. As the company’s founder, Luis F. Borrero said on phone interview with Socrata, “Transparency is good, but in the end, it’s really just offering you data. We are giving that data clarity by showing what the data means to you, in the shortest amount of time and the most memorable way.”
Q&A: Luis Borrero, Founder of DRiVEDecisions
Interviewed for thenewsfunnel.com
October 28, 2014
While we all learn in different ways, sometimes when data is presented in a format that allows us to visualize it, it can make the difference between being able to truly grasp the implications it holds and overlooking very important, yet seemingly minute details. DriveDecisions is an online tool for CRE professionals created with the intention of distilling mountains of key information into critical insights, so that brokers can see properties in their full dimension (3D + time), identify interrelations, needs and opportunities with relevant data, and present that information to others in a way that builds trust and speeds up decision-making. For this FunnelCast Q&A we were joined by Luis Borrero, founder of DriveDecisions, to talk about his innovative product.
Read more at thenewsfunnel.com
DRiVE Decisions: Clearer, Faster, Better Decisions for Real Property
Our product featured in CRE App Review
October 28, 2014
Eye Candy.
Those are the first words to come to mind when taking in DriveDecisions, a software product that produces 3D virtual environments, paired with reams of relevant data in order to create full-scale, interactive property models.
These models, in turn, are designed to be systematically studied and dissected by real estate professionals with the goal of either enhancing their insights regarding potential investment opportunities, or helping them to identify and target new ones. Rather than analyzing a bunch of different, fragmented sets of data, DriveDecisions unifies everything for users in order to make it easier to see the "bigger picture," by ordering and presenting property information...
Luis F Borrero selected as speaker in RealComm, Las Vegas 2014
"RealComm: The intersection of Technology, Innovation and Real Estate"
Seattle, June 9, 2014
DATA DATA DATA
The conversation on data seems to just be getting louder. Data is coming from business automation platforms, mobile devices and now sensored smart buildings. This track will focus on the critical issues associated with data such as acquisition, management, analytics and most importantly, how to use it to drive the business.VISUALIZATION PREVIEW - Seeing is Believing
Date: 6/19/2014 Time: 1:15PM - 2:15PM Location: LVH Pavilion 11
DR-i-VE featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal
"DRiVEdecisions: All the Info in One single Click"
Seattle, May 16, 2014
Drivedecisions is a 3-D platform for visually discovering, analyzing and presenting information relevant to urban development and commercial real estate.
SEATTLE STARTUP TO HELP CIVIC LEADERS HARNESS
THE POWER OF OPEN DATA TO SHAPE THEIR CITIES
FORMER SEATTLE MAYOR MIKE MCGINN TO LEAD INITIATIVE
Seattle, November 20, 2014—Government and foundations have a critical role unleashing the true economic potential of open data in shaping our cities. Mike McGinn, the most recent former mayor of Seattle, has joined Seattle-based tech startup DriveDecisions as Public Sector Advocate to carry out this important message.
McGinn will help DriveDecisions reach governments and foundations who can fund the integration of regional data for their urban environment or purchase open access for all residents. He will also continue speaking, advocating, and consulting on issues relating to urban vitality, global warming and social change, now powered with DriveDecisions, a "made in Seattle" tool.
"DriveDecisions can help cities realize the promise of open data," said McGinn. "Government works better when decision-makers and citizens have access to clear and timely information and a shared vision for development. Coordinated efforts across departments, discussions with the private sector, and outreach to communities can all be enhanced with this tool."
DriveDecisions's platform dynamically processes live data from community, city, county, state, and regional agencies—currently stored on over twenty websites in different formats—to instantly show inside a virtual environment how each location is impacted by multiple urban systems, such as water, education, mobility, land use and development. "Our average active user saves 500 hours per year by using DriveDecisions, while significantly increasing quality in their analysis and clarity in their presentations." DriveDecisions founder Luis Borrero explains.
Until now, DriveDecisions has been successfully serving private clients in the investment, development and commercial real estate fields in Greater Seattle, who use its tools to find, evaluate, and present specific opportunities. "With McGinn's support, we aim to make some tools publicly available to improve communications across public, private and community leaders in our region, in support of our mission to accelerate sustainable urban development." Borrero explains.
Under McGinn's administration, the City of Seattle—a recognized leader in environmental sustainability and social equity—won awards for its open data portal and its website. McGinn's aim is for metropolitan area leaders, such as Seattle's, to invest in tools that will help citizens of all levels of technical expertise make use of open data, including DriveDecisions.
Coverage in: The Seattle Times; Geekwire; Daily Journal of Commerce
Colliers International's Seattle Office to Use 3D Mapping Software
from Seattle-Based DR-i-VE
Software Allows Commercial Real Estate Services Provider to Help Clients Synthesize and Visualize Urban Environment for Key Real Estate Decisions
Seattle, May 6, 2014 – Seattle-based technology startup DR-i-VE is proud to announce its newest client, the Seattle office of global real estate services firm Colliers International. Colliers joins other early adopters who leverage DR-i-VE's tools and services to support better decisions for real property. Starting now, brokers in Colliers International's Seattle office will use DR-i-VE's innovative proprietary technology to find and evaluate real estate opportunities.
"At Colliers, we strongly value our ability to offer in-depth analysis and insight into the local marketplace to help clients make sound real estate decisions" states Dylan Simon, an investment sales broker with Colliers International in Seattle, who is leading Colliers' early-adopter program with DR-i-VE. "The innovative DR-i-VE solution will allow us to synthesize data across several key areas that affect investors' real estate decisions, positioning us to add the most value to our clients."
ARA's Seattle office to use DR-i-VE's platform and services to find, evaluate and present multifamily real estate opportunities in the region
Multifamily real estate brokerage powers up to better support clients' investment decisions.
Seattle, August 11, 2014—Seattle-based technology start-up DR-i-VE is proud to announce its newest client, the Seattle office of ARA. ARA joins a cadre of early adopters in Seattle who leverage DR-i-VE's platform and services to support better commercial real estate investment decisions.
"We are excited to strengthen our offering with the digital muscle our region deserves and demands", says Marty Leith, ARA Seattle's managing broker. "I've never seen anything like this. I'll now be spending my time driving around here instead of out there and all over the web,"added ARA broker, Jerry Sankey.