Managing the complexity of multiple and varied data sources

One core component of the StratHub that the Ethekwini municipality needed assistance to develop was a Liveability Index, involving complexity to accurately assimilate and measure liveability data.

With an expert data solutions partner, they could overcome the challenges of:

• Incorporating the broad range of components that make up liveability, such as Housing, Neighbourhood, Transportation, Environment, Health, Safety, Engagement, Opportunities and Education.

• Merging datasets from various sources, like different government departments.
• Cleaning and sorting data in different formats, such as XLS or CSV files, and varying in size, with up to millions of rows per source.

Empowering businesses and citizens with a real-time Liveability Index

WeDoTech worked closely with the municipality to develop a real-time Liveability Index calculator. The calculator app helps citizens make informed decisions about where to live in the region, using simple, accurate data and is a vital facet of the StratHub platform.

The index pulls in data from various sources, including the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), OpenGIS datasets from the eThekwini Municipality, SARS Anonymised Data and Edge datasets. This level of detailed, accurate data provides the context that makes the liveability index a powerful decision-making tool.

Solution components

WeDoTech leveraged the DataJoinery platform to clean and centralise the data, and bring together all the aspects of liveability to form a real-time index — one that all citizens could utilise.

Using DataJoinery, the team could access and load municipal data and spreadsheets using the dynamic data cloud platform, Snowflake, where millions of data records are summarised into the Liveability Index.

Plus, the solution’s tech stack has additional functions, including:

• Being automatically refreshed with updated information using the DataJoinery data pipeline.
• Consistent data integrity, as DataJoinery runs automatic unit tests to verify the accuracy of the data and to proactively resolve any issues.
• The ability to easily add further data sources to the data model that enrich the data and fine-tune the Liveability Index.
• Providing additional context to the data using Python libraries.

Harnessing innovation and the power of data to change lives

The launch of the Liveability Index and the Strategic Hub is a groundbreaking step for the eThekwini municipality and leads the way for other regions to support their citizens with smart, data-driven solutions.

By assimilating multiple data sources, WeDoTech was able to provide a practical visual data tool that supports smarter decision-making for citizens and businesses. As a result, the eThekwini municipality could further their vision of being a cultural and economic hub that champions:

• Economic development
• Job creation
• Provision of essential services
• Sustainable practices
• Safe and habitable cities
• Tourism

Through their intelligent partnership with WeDoTech, and other leading providers, the municipality could access accurate, up-to-date information to better manage resources, encourage business investment and empower their citizens!