The mayor of Rio is a control freak. No, not really, but after big rains created huge problems in 2010, he wanted a state-of-the-art centralized operations center where traffic, weather hazards, public safety, large public events and risk management issues of every kind could be monitored and responded to in a coordinated fashion. The result is a huge clean facility that looks like NASA mission control, where dozens of operators in white jumpsuits monitor 400 cameras and numerous data layers throughout Rio in real time. They are the only city in Latin America with an advanced weather radar and predictive technology developed by IBM, which allows accurate prediction and tracking of flood and mudslide risks. Emergency shelter and medical facilities are mapped, as are all municipal guards on duty, right down to the charge level of their phones. Even city garbage trucks have GPS, and their locations plotted on one of dozens of GIS data layers. Complaint calls to the City are also mapped in real time.
Marcos Cesar Gentil of the Control Center introduced us to the operation (with Vicente Del Rio translating) as we sat in the Crisis Room. The Crisis Room has a direct connection to the mayor's residence, and has thus far only been used twice: during a school shooting, and again when two downtown buildings suddenly collapsed. We watched a slick video about the Operations Center, with tag lines such as "Rio de Janeiro Cannot Stop", and Rio de Janeiro Government: Always Present".
The Operations Center is also very useful for massive public events that create unique traffic and infrastructure demands, such as concerts by Paul McCartney or Justin Bieber (we learned that parking and traffic demands were higher for the Bieber event with parents dropping off kids). 400 separate Carnival parades are in the GIS files: their routes, how many people, and hours.
It felt somewhat Big Brother-ish, but impressive nontheless, and the mayor surely must sleep better knowing that many worst case scenarios can be prevented or at least addressed as effectively as possible. One paradoxical thing about Rio is that it feels so casual, happy and friendly, yet one sees private and public security personnel and cameras everywhere. Do people feel more secure because of the obsession with monitoring?
Marcos Cesar Gentil of the Control Center introduced us to the operation (with Vicente Del Rio translating) as we sat in the Crisis Room. The Crisis Room has a direct connection to the mayor's residence, and has thus far only been used twice: during a school shooting, and again when two downtown buildings suddenly collapsed. We watched a slick video about the Operations Center, with tag lines such as "Rio de Janeiro Cannot Stop", and Rio de Janeiro Government: Always Present".
The Operations Center is also very useful for massive public events that create unique traffic and infrastructure demands, such as concerts by Paul McCartney or Justin Bieber (we learned that parking and traffic demands were higher for the Bieber event with parents dropping off kids). 400 separate Carnival parades are in the GIS files: their routes, how many people, and hours.
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