The CityLoops Data Hub

The CityLoops Data Hub (https://cityloops.metabolismofcities.org/) is a subsite of Metabolism of Cities that exists specifically for the seven CityLoops (CL) cities of the project. Beyond the project, other cities are invited to make use of the Data Hub.

The Data Hub serves as the central location for:

  • data that can be accessed openly and collaborated on with any (freely) registered user, which allows for fairly easy data management.
  • a system that is structured and ready with various layers and sublayers for each city to be filled by the respective users working on that city, as several people can work on the same city.
  • instructions in the form of courses and these handbooks
  • the repository of more resources
    • tools
    • courses
    • documents

The visualisations of the single datasets and system diagrams can be displayed within the single cities’ dashboards, respectively. The cities can take advantage of this interactive platform, which also includes a forum, and can engage with users in online collaboration and community building.

The “Resources” tab of the website menu is the go-to place for the cities, since the instructions, tools and data for data collection and management can be found there.

In short, the CityLoops Data Hub can be used as the place where the data is collected, stored, processed, visualised and analysed.

  • Link to the CityLoops Data Hub: https://cityloops.metabolismofcities.org/
  • Forum: https://cityloops.metabolismofcities.org/hub/forum/
Do you want to add your city to the Data Hub? Great! Any city can contact Metabolism of Cities through info[at]metabolismofcities.org and discuss options to add their city on the Data Hub as well.

FAQ

How do I sign up to the Data Hub?

Signing up by creating an account is easy and can be done by following these steps:

  1. You can use this link https://cityloops.metabolismofcities.org/hub/join/?next=/hub/ or go to the Community Portal and click on “Join us”.
  2. Enter your full name, email address and password. (While optional, we encourage people to add a profile photo and their interests, as this makes a user profile that much nicer.)
  3. Click “register” and you are done. You should be automatically signed in. If you are not, you can now sign in here.

→ Should you ever forget your password, no problem, as there is a password reset function.

How can I reset my password?

You can simply use the password reset function (https://cityloops.metabolismofcities.org/accounts/passwordreset/).

Does the data collection tab contain the variables for both the city and the sector assessment?

The data collection tab is NOT specific for CityLoops, but the one that is also used on the general Metabolism of Cities Data Hub. But yes, some of them will be the same for the sector and the city scan, whereas others will be more refined for the sector.

Can everyone see the data and have access to it?

At the moment, yes. There could be different clearances for the users introduced, e.g. the public can only see the actual data on the Data Hub, whereas registered users get to log into the site and have access to the “data manger”, where they can either only view it or also edit it, use the forum, upload data etc.

I don’t want for everyone to see the data. Is there a workaround?

Yes. Instead of uploading the data file, you can also upload a file to a password secured google drive, basecamp etc. folder and simply paste the link to that file when adding that there is data for a layer.

I've just uploaded a publication or dataset for a city, but the progress bar or document number has not changed. Why is that?

Everything is fine and your submission counts. That this is not reflected is an issue of site performance. That page is not generated live, but instead a copy is saved and the data is updated every so many hours, because otherwise it takes too long to generate the page.

How do I tag correctly for data items of Layer 2?

Layer 2 has four tags:

  1. physical location
  2. sector (automatic)
  3. material (1) sector material (EMP1 or 8) + (2) actual material/waste (EMP)
  4. tag automatic layer tag + GDP/actor etc., and NACE code

What is the correct material code for materials?

Please find the correct material code from the Energy, Materials, Products (EMP) catalogue.

What is the correct material code for waste materials?

Please find the correct material code from the Energy, Materials, Products (EMP) catalogue.