Capacity Management

Capacity Management Case Studies

Would you decide to visit a different park if you knew your favorite picnic spots were taken? Or take a different bus route to get a seat on your way to work? As a business owner, would you change the layout of your store to provide a better experience for your customers?

COVID-19 raised the stakes for managing shared spaces, but the importance – and value – of proactive capacity management predates the coronavirus and is certain to outlive it. Successfully reopening the public realm required technology, design, and policy solutions as well as strong communications and engagement to enable informed, responsible choices.

City Tech and our partners integrated existing assets and advanced technologies to improve short-term capacity management operations while building a foundation for continued innovation.

Case Study:
Transit Capacity Management

Building on the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA’s) existing measures to keep bus and train service timely, efficient, and safe, City Tech Collaborative, together with the Chicago Transit Authority, Genetec, Intel, and Microsoft, developed new tools to provide real-time insights on bus occupancy across multiple vehicles.

A pilot implementation on CTA’s 79th street bus line allowed CTA to proactively meet route ridership demand, reduce both passenger crowding and wait times, and provide a safe, socially distanced rider experience.

Case Study:
Capacity Management of Shared Urban Spaces

Using Navy Pier as a testbed, City Tech Collaborative, together with Navy Pier, NTT, SDI Presence, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Intel, demonstrated how a combination of high- and low-tech solutions can manage capacity of shared public and semi-public urban spaces.

Taking a data-driven approach, the team developed physical and operational design changes and requirements for flexible trip planning tools that improve visitors’ experiences, maintain safety, and increase businesses’ resilience in the face of future disruptions.