When we talk about policy, we often talk in national averages. But national averages do not always reflect people’s lived realities. People experience environmental challenges, housing shortages, transport gaps or limited access to services where they live: in specific neighbourhoods, cities and regions. That is why geospatial data is so powerful, helping us see where challenges are concentrated, how they affect different places and communities, and where policy can make the biggest difference.
In this session, OECD experts from the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) will unpack how geospatial data and tools are changing the way we understand local realities and design more targeted policies. We will explore how the OECD Geospatial Lab and Local Data Portal bring together spatial methods, alternative data sources and policy analysis to make local patterns more visible and comparable across countries. From understanding exposure to environmental pressures and greenhouse gas emissions to supporting better decisions on housing, transport and urban resilience, geospatial tools can help move policy debates from abstract averages to evidence grounded in real places.
We will also look ahead to how advances in Earth Observation, new and alternative data sources, artificial intelligence and digital twins are expanding what spatial analysis can offer. By the end of the session, you will have a clearer sense of how geospatial data and tools can support more place-based policymaking, helping decision-makers better understand not only what is happening, but where it is happening, how places and communities are affected, and where opportunities for policy action lie.