This presentation discussed how public data lakes, such as AWS's COVID-19 Data Lake can be an essential source of knowledge to get insights from local communities and cities and to build situational awareness rapidly. It also pointed out how cloud platforms can support customers to speed up the path to modernization without the need for having to build technologies themselves and harness data-at-scale and partner ecosystems.

This presentation discussed how Ur-scape, a GIS-based visualization and data tool developed by the Future Cities Laboratory, was used to perform a cross-sectoral analysis in the Indonesian city of Makassar to identify positive correlations between COVID-19 transmission patterns and population density, land use, main transport hubs, access to water and income level. It also emphasized the need for multisectoral planning, specifically in the integration and combining of data for better urban planning to achieve truly resilient cities.

This presentation discussed how big data can be used to support analysis of highly interconnected and complex policy problems, and how a single data source can have multiple applications. It also underscored how COVID-19 has exposed and reinforced the digital divide across multiple dimensions, from livelihood to education.