Data intelligence that converts into brick-and-mortar value
An intelligence platform that couples deep insights into user preferences with an array of external data sets will be valuable to a large number of stakeholders in our built environment.
The computed intelligence will be offered through subscription-based access to the CityChange platform. It could also be offered case-by-case as part of intelligence reports computed for specific areas or projects.
The monetising potential is significant, ranging from selling actionable insights to urban developers and city administrations to taking a fee for facilitating crowdfunding of urban renewal projects. Undoubtedly, new monetizing channels will open up during the journey — the following are six examples of revenue streams that can make CityChange a highly profitable business while also doing good for urban communities.
• City administrations
Manage and improve the city.
City administrations will be able to subscribe to a platform that offers them a whole new level of insight into how the residents respond to the city, a direct communication channel to citizens, a survey platform and more.
Going forward, CityChange can evolve into an entire software suite for sculpting and managing a city. There are an estimated 5,000 cities in the world with a population of at least 100,000. A total of 4.2 billion people live in cities. The TAM is significant.
• Urban developers
Improve profitability by understanding desires.
Urban developers will pay for access to big data about buildings and surrounding spaces — about what people want and desire. Coupled with demographics this will offer developers actionable and valuable pre-project insights.
The global construction output is currently almost 10 trillion €.
• Retailers
Pinpoint locations and new opportunities.
Large brick-and-mortar chains often struggle to find ideal locations. Exactly where to open the next supermarket? Coffee shop? Clothing store?
With CityChange, both major retailers and entrepreneurs will be able to see big data distilled into address-specific recommendations for locations with an optimal ROI.
The market is considerable.
• Real estate
More information for a better user experience.
With a subscription to CityChange data, real estate agents will be able to display a wealth of information about any given location to potential buyers, including rankings and quality scores.
This will be a valuable competitive tool in setting the agent apart from competition, with the potential to eventually becoming an industry standard.
• Universities and media
Insight for its own sake.
Universities, architectural schools and media will subscribe to a comprehensive data set that will be valuable in its own right.
Highly detailed information about people’s responses to their environment will add significant value to research, education and journalistic work.
These entities will be able to subscribe at a reduced rate.
• Crowdfunding for the built environment
A fee for facilitating.
CityChange will offer an option for citizens to come together and co-fund desired urban renewal projects.
This is essentially a crowdfunding model where a community can choose to financially back projects of particular interest and benefit to them.
As with all other crowdfunding platforms, CityChange will take a variable fee per successful fundraising for offering the facilitating platform.
And there’s one more …
• Advertising
Hyper-local targeting
Meta’s Facebook controls much of the top-funnel digital advertising market today. It is the most dominant platform on which to stimulate new demand from a targeted audience.
There is, however, one important part of this market that Facebook has very little control over: The hyper-local ad market. Facebook does not know exactly where the user lives, only the general area.
Similarly to a food delivery service, the CityChange app requires the users to share the location of their home. As the app’s ‘city feed’ becomes a utility accessed by users at regular intervals, a potentially lucrative market opens up: Hyper-local digital advertising, based not on GPS-readings of where the user may be right now for whatever reason, but on exactly what local area is consistently relevant for the user: Their neighbourhood.
