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Cell Phone Data Sourced For Rock Harbor Study
Cell phone data was analyzed as part of a recent study by the Cape Cod Commission to better understand the visitation patterns and trends at Rock Harbor. That data was aggregated and analyzed by a third party company, Placer.ai RYAN BRAY PHOTO
ORLEANS – If you paid a visit to Rock Harbor in recent years, you may have unknowingly taken part in a new study conducted by the Cape Cod Commission.
The study, titled “The Economic Value of Rock Harbor,” was released in March. In it, commission staffers employed different means of gathering information and data to assess the harbor’s economic value, including in-person surveys with visitors to the popular spot and businesses in the area, namely commercial fishermen.
Another method involved utilizing data culled from visitors’ cell phones to better understand visitation patterns at the harbor. According to the study, cell phone data was gathered from 2021 through the summer of 2023.
“While cellphone activity is not a direct indicator of people in an area, the range of magnitude and change in activity can be valuable in understanding visitation patterns,” a summary of the study’s methodologies reads.
George Meservey, Orleans’ director of planning and community development, said that $15,000 was approved for the study at the special town meeting in October 2022. He said the town contracted with the commission based on similar studies it had done in other Cape communities.
“As Orleans received only output from the data, I cannot comment on the depth or breadth of data that may be available,” he said in an email last week.
The commission contracted with a third-party company, Placer.ai to gather the cell phone data. The study describes the company as a “location intelligence and foot-traffic tracking platform.”
“This platform tracks cellphone locations via numerous smartphone applications daily and uses that data to provide estimates of foot traffic (as not everyone may have the applications on their phone, some people may not have a cellphone, or some may have multiple cellphones).”
“With access to that, we were able to look at some of the visitation patterns and see when there were more people at the harbor, those busiest times,” said Chloe Schaefer, chief planner for the Cape Cod Commission.
The cell phone data worked in concert with in-person surveys that were conducted with harbor visitors. According to surveys, the average visitor spent about $19 on food, drinks and other items before heading to the harbor. That figure was then multiplied by the number of visitors identified through the cell phone data to estimate that approximately $127,000 in revenue was derived indirectly through the harbor during a typical summer season.
Shaefer said the cell phone data the commission received from Placer.ai Is “totally anonymous,” and that the commission does not have any names or personal information relative to cell phone use at the harbor over the course of the study.
“We’re not tracking people, certainly,” she said.
With the continued advancements in technology, the use of cell phone data in the name of study and research has become much more commonplace. Schaefer said the commission used Placer a.i. on “at least one other project” that also analyzed visitation patterns at different areas of the Cape during the COVID-19 pandemic. But in her own work, Schaefer said she mostly relies on more standard data sets such as U.S. Census Bureau information.
“Data is always great, and trying to look for good and reliable data sources is something we always try to do,” she said. “But in terms of actually using AI to develop work products, I can’t really say anything about that.”
The Chronicle reached out to Placer.ai to inquire as to how the company goes about safeguarding the data that it collects. A spokesperson for the company directed us to its “Trust Center,” a landing page on the Placer.ai website that details how private information is protected.
“Equipped with extensive experience in data science, cybersecurity, and engineering, Placer.ai’s founders decided to create the world’s most accurate location analytics platform without compromising individual privacy,” according to the company. “From the beginning, it’s been critical to our success that privacy is not only a core requirement for our technical solutions, but as the cornerstone of our business.”
Placer.ai says device data is first stripped or any “personal identifiers” before it is shared with the company. That data is then aggregated around “specific points of interest” relative to the particular field of study.
The company further indicates that its findings through the data represent location estimates and approximations.
“What you see with our maps never represents the actual location of any one particular device,” the company says. “Further, we don’t show any data for locations with fewer than 50 unique devices.”
To read the study in full, visit www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/the-economic-value-of-rock-harbor/.
Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com
The study, titled “The Economic Value of Rock Harbor,” was released in March. In it, commission staffers employed different means of gathering information and data to assess the harbor’s economic value, including in-person surveys with visitors to the popular spot and businesses in the area, namely commercial fishermen.
Another method involved utilizing data culled from visitors’ cell phones to better understand visitation patterns at the harbor. According to the study, cell phone data was gathered from 2021 through the summer of 2023.
“While cellphone activity is not a direct indicator of people in an area, the range of magnitude and change in activity can be valuable in understanding visitation patterns,” a summary of the study’s methodologies reads.
George Meservey, Orleans’ director of planning and community development, said that $15,000 was approved for the study at the special town meeting in October 2022. He said the town contracted with the commission based on similar studies it had done in other Cape communities.
“As Orleans received only output from the data, I cannot comment on the depth or breadth of data that may be available,” he said in an email last week.
The commission contracted with a third-party company, Placer.ai to gather the cell phone data. The study describes the company as a “location intelligence and foot-traffic tracking platform.”
“This platform tracks cellphone locations via numerous smartphone applications daily and uses that data to provide estimates of foot traffic (as not everyone may have the applications on their phone, some people may not have a cellphone, or some may have multiple cellphones).”
“With access to that, we were able to look at some of the visitation patterns and see when there were more people at the harbor, those busiest times,” said Chloe Schaefer, chief planner for the Cape Cod Commission.
The cell phone data worked in concert with in-person surveys that were conducted with harbor visitors. According to surveys, the average visitor spent about $19 on food, drinks and other items before heading to the harbor. That figure was then multiplied by the number of visitors identified through the cell phone data to estimate that approximately $127,000 in revenue was derived indirectly through the harbor during a typical summer season.
Shaefer said the cell phone data the commission received from Placer.ai Is “totally anonymous,” and that the commission does not have any names or personal information relative to cell phone use at the harbor over the course of the study.
“We’re not tracking people, certainly,” she said.
With the continued advancements in technology, the use of cell phone data in the name of study and research has become much more commonplace. Schaefer said the commission used Placer a.i. on “at least one other project” that also analyzed visitation patterns at different areas of the Cape during the COVID-19 pandemic. But in her own work, Schaefer said she mostly relies on more standard data sets such as U.S. Census Bureau information.
“Data is always great, and trying to look for good and reliable data sources is something we always try to do,” she said. “But in terms of actually using AI to develop work products, I can’t really say anything about that.”
The Chronicle reached out to Placer.ai to inquire as to how the company goes about safeguarding the data that it collects. A spokesperson for the company directed us to its “Trust Center,” a landing page on the Placer.ai website that details how private information is protected.
“Equipped with extensive experience in data science, cybersecurity, and engineering, Placer.ai’s founders decided to create the world’s most accurate location analytics platform without compromising individual privacy,” according to the company. “From the beginning, it’s been critical to our success that privacy is not only a core requirement for our technical solutions, but as the cornerstone of our business.”
Placer.ai says device data is first stripped or any “personal identifiers” before it is shared with the company. That data is then aggregated around “specific points of interest” relative to the particular field of study.
The company further indicates that its findings through the data represent location estimates and approximations.
“What you see with our maps never represents the actual location of any one particular device,” the company says. “Further, we don’t show any data for locations with fewer than 50 unique devices.”
To read the study in full, visit www.capecodcommission.org/our-work/the-economic-value-of-rock-harbor/.
Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com
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