Tired of spending your commute to work stuck in traffic jams? Urban Engines hopes to solve this problem by incentivising people to use less congested routes. It uses algorithms to help cities determine key congestion areas, and rewards commuters for avoiding them.

Using location-based demographic data purchased from mobile carriers, StreetLight Data provides insights into how people move through cities, and where they spend time. But as privacy concerns grow, what are the benefits for consumers?

Mexico City may be one of the most congested and dangerous cities to cycle in, but a group of people calling themselves 'The Bicitekas' are promoting non-motorised transport. The commuting contest shows how a bike is always faster than a car, motorbike or public transport.

In an attempt to understand how the city works, Chicago is set to introduce lamp posts that track activity around them. It measures environmental characteristics and the number of people passing by – but what implications does it have for privacy? Is this the new big brother?

“Stuck on a baking Tube, late, hate the Central Line. Think driver has gone to sleep!” People love sharing their transport miseries on social media, but while it may make them feel better for a minute, they will probably run into the same problem on the next day's commute.

In a connected world, networks are a useful source of information. Waze, a network of 28 million commuters united by their desire for up-to-date information, shows how constant connectivity can often be most useful when serving immediate needs.

Environmental change begins with behavioural change, but simply telling people to 'be better' isn't enough. A new kind of pragmatic environmentalism is emerging – and the 'incidental change' pioneered by We Are What We Do is leading the charge.

To deal with unbearable congestion, China is setting up a lottery to determine who gets to buy a car this year in Beijing. When the system comes into effect, it will allow 20,000 applicants in the capital the right to buy new number plates.