Methods and apparatus for improving resource utilization in an urban environment are described. In a particular embodiment, an outdoor sensor network is provided. The outdoor sensor network can include sensors for monitoring parking spots, traffic, ground moisture, waste receptacle levels, lighting levels, sound levels and pollution. The outdoor sensor network can be linked to a plurality of outdoor kiosks. Each booth can be configured to receive sensor data from a portion of the sensors in the outdoor sensor network and communicate the information to a city message bus. The city message bus can be configured using a data distribution service, such as openDDS. The kiosks can be configured to provide many different services which utilize information gathered from the sensors.