Who We Are
At StreetLight Data, we bring real-world travel patterns to light. Just as streetlights illuminate our roadways at night, StreetLight Data creates analytics that shine a light on mobility behavior. We aim to transform urban planning, transportation infrastructure design, business, and research with the power of data. With our analytics, communities can design public spaces and transportation systems that are more efficient, effective, sustainable, and safe.
Did You Know?...
Wabash, Indiana became the first city to illuminate its streets with electric lights in March 1880. Despite public opposition, the town council replaced the city's gas lights with electric ones because they were more cost-effective.1
1Source: Tocco, Peter. "The Night They Turned the Lights On in Wabash." Indiana Magazine of History, December 1999, 350-63.
Our Mission
Our mission is using Big Data to understand travel patterns easy, intuitive, and affordable. Through our pioneering approach to the use of location data, we will:
Help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum use in vehicles, especially by reducing miles driven.
Improve transportation access and equity.
Improve quantity and quality of in-store commerce for retail clients.
Improve quantity and quality of in-store commerce for retail clients.
Equip small and medium businesses with analytic tools that are affordable and easy to use.
Create a new source of knowledge about how people use cities and make that knowledge available to researchers.
Our Story
StreetLight Data was founded in 2011 by Laura Schewel, a sustainable transportation expert who recognized that, while excellent data exists on people's online and e-commerce activity, there is virtually no information about how people commute, shop, and travel in the real world. Given how important transportation is for climate change, quality of life, pollution, equity, and the economy, this situation seemed absurd to Laura. At that time, she was developing new technologies and data approaches for transportation data as part of her PhD at UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group.
Laura founded StreetLight Data because she realized that commercializing her research techniques could unlock barriers to data-driven transportation, urban design, and commercial planning. In 2011, co-founder Paul Friedman joined the team, bringing deep experience in creating commercial data products. He solidified the company’s product offering and technical approach.
Did You Know?...
Driving-for-shopping is nearly 30% of miles driven in the U.S., but very few transportation analyses or planning programs deal with this type of driving. Our Metrics make analyzing these types of trips possible.
StreetLight Data Milestones
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Ready to Get Started?
Use the link below to watch demo videos of StreetLight InSight® and learn how you can create Travel Metrics for Urban Planning and Transportation in minutes.