Latest Posts

Cities are Many Things – Urban in Motion

Cities can be many things to its citizens. Urban as an acronym for constant change and transformation, a world to shape up dreams and visions. The artefact city as a construction and collage of layered times, hopes and desires is open to interpretation. Here on UT this has been a topic from the beginning and will continue to be.

How to read the city and how to visualise the many possible interpretation of data, charts and reports is part of the ongoing discussion shaping the building culture of the present. From smart cities to participation, technology has been branded pervasive, particularly in relation to cities and hopes have been pinned to the rise of data visualisation. There has not been a definite result, certainly a business case is pitched, but more importantly a very specific practice has emerged. A practice that is not only lauded by city officials and leading researchers, but has become part of the individual everyday. In the sense of a very early post: You are the city

An impression or interpretation thereof by the artist Saana Inari in a video installation made for Kiveaf about Belgrade back in 2013. Described as an Audiovisual installation is a study about the city of Belgrade, describing different sides of it, architecture, communication, traffic, humans…

Stop Motion Beograd. Video by Saana Inari on Vimeo.

Two to three channel vertical HD video, total duration 9 minutes. Stereo audio for the space, duration 10:30 min.
Director / Camera / Animation / Sound: Saana Inari, made for: Kiveaf, funding: Oskar Öflunds Stiftelse

Continue reading »

A Semester with Urban Analytics

This past semester I gave a new class at GMU entitled “Urban Analytics”. In a nutshell the class was about introducing students to a broad interdisciplinary field that focuses on the use of data to study cities. More specifcally the emphasis of the cla…

Continue reading »

A Semester with Urban Analytics

This past semester I gave a new class at GMU entitled “Urban Analytics”. In a nutshell the class was about introducing students to a broad interdisciplinary field that focuses on the use of data to study cities. More specifcally the emphasis of the cla…

Continue reading »

#FuturePub – Citizen Science, Open Science & scientific publications

Thanks to an invitation from John Hammersley of OverLeaf I gave a talk at #FuturePub 7 event, which was dedicated to “New Developments in Scientific Collaboration Tech”. The evening was structured around 7 very short talks (about 5 minutes) so my slides are a very short introduction to citizen science (in this event, I would say that … Continue reading #FuturePub – Citizen Science, Open Science & scientific publications

Continue reading »

10 lessons Sadiq Khan must learn from his predecessors’ time in office – CityMetric


CityMetric

10 lessons Sadiq Khan must learn from his predecessors’ time in office
CityMetric
Now that the victory celebrations are over, the hard work of running London begins. New mayor Sadiq Khan will be well aware of the scale of the challenge ahead – with the housing crisis, rising costs of living, increasing transport costs and a likely

and more »

Continue reading »

Does your department care about tax havens?

Oxfam published a press release yesterday containing an open letter to world leaders calling for them to “make significant moves towards ending the era of tax havens” which are “distorting the working of the global economy”. This seems to me like a pretty important intervention, and it’s a rare opportunity for economists to use their variably-justified … Continue reading “Does your department care about tax havens?”

Continue reading »

Winter may be coming to Westeros – but our next ice age is on hold – CityMetric


CityMetric

Winter may be coming to Westeros – but our next ice age is on hold
CityMetric
Finally, our map of the week – which, I’ll be honest, we do no justice to whatsoever – is this magnificent piece of work by Duncan Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced spatial Analysis. It shows, at a glance, the growth of all the world’s major cities

and more »

Continue reading »

Securing funding and balancing efforts: a tale of 21 research applications

The last 3 months were a gradual sigh of relief for the Extreme Citizen Science group (ExCites), Mapping for Change (MfC), and for me. As the UCL engineering website announced, the ExCiteS group, which I co-direct, secured funding through 3 research grants from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme (H2020), with enough funding to continue … Continue reading Securing funding and balancing efforts: a tale of 21 research applications

Continue reading »

19 other things Zac Goldsmith can do, now he won’t be mayor of London – CityMetric


CityMetric

19 other things Zac Goldsmith can do, now he won’t be mayor of London
CityMetric
Finally, our map of the week – which, I’ll be honest, we do no justice to whatsoever – is this magnificent piece of work by Duncan Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced spatial Analysis. It shows, at a glance, the growth of all the world’s major cities

and more »

Continue reading »

Postdoctoral Research Associate – University of Liverpool

Tweet    Thanks to generous funding from The Economic and Social Research Council, for a project called: ‘Changing Socio-Spatial Inequalities: Population change and the lived experience of inequality in urban South Africa’, there is a post-doctoral research opportunity available, based at the University of Liverpool.     Please see here for more details.     […]

Continue reading »

Here’s everything we learned from an analysis of the colours on every metro map in the world – CityMetric


CityMetric

Here’s everything we learned from an analysis of the colours on every metro map in the world
CityMetric
Alright, alright, I’ll stop. As you obviously know, because that’s the kind of cool dude you are, those are the colour palettes used be three of the world’s most famous metro maps – the London Underground, Paris Metro and New York Subway respectively.

and more »

Continue reading »

New Paper: Extreme Citizen Science – a new approach (in Portuguese)

One of the advantages of working in a multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse group is that I can become co-author in languages that I do not speak. Carolina Comandulli, who is doing her PhD research in the Brazil/Peru border area, led on the writing of a paper on ‘Extreme Citizen Science’ – we have collaborated on the writing … Continue reading New Paper: Extreme Citizen Science – a new approach (in Portuguese)

Continue reading »

London elects: What will a new mayor mean for Heathrow Airport? – CityMetric


CityMetric

London elects: What will a new mayor mean for Heathrow Airport?
CityMetric
With Heathrow already operating at 98 per cent capacity, airport expansion will be one of the biggest issues facing the next mayor of London. Whoever is elected to the position won’t have the final say – that power lies with the UK government – but

and more »

Continue reading »

Introducing “Doing It Together Science” – an EU citizen science project

The full details of new project is over on the Extreme Citizen Science blog (link below) so here is the two lines summary. Doing It Together Science (DITOs) is a three-year programme to increase public participation in scientific research and innovation across Europe. The project includes 11-partners and coordinated by UCL Extreme Citizen Science group. DITOs aims … Continue reading Introducing “Doing It Together Science” – an EU citizen science project

Continue reading »

Fully Funded EPSRC PhD studentship on population stability and residential mobility in London

Tweet    Fully Funded EPSRC PhD studentship on population stability and residential mobility in London     There is an excellent opportunity to apply for a fully funded 4-year EPSRC PhD studentship at the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, focusing on the long term prospects of large urban residential development initiatives in London in […]

Continue reading »

As another London club closes, Amsterdam shows why we need a “night mayor” – CityMetric


CityMetric

As another London club closes, Amsterdam shows why we need a “night mayor”
CityMetric
If you like going dancing in London, you’ve probably heard the bad news already. Dance Tunnel, the intimate Dalston club that has hosted DJs like Prosumer, Tama Sumo and Ben UFO, will close in August. In an announcement on Facebook, the club said …

and more »

Continue reading »

What has mayor Joe Anderson done for Liverpool – and how will the new city region mayor change things? – CityMetric


CityMetric

What has mayor Joe Anderson done for Liverpool – and how will the new city region mayor change things?
CityMetric
Finally, our map of the week – which, I’ll be honest, we do no justice to whatsoever – is this magnificent piece of work by Duncan Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced spatial Analysis. It shows, at a glance, the growth of all the world’s major cities

Continue reading »

Here’s why experts agree the EU is good for Britain’s environment – CityMetric


CityMetric

Here’s why experts agree the EU is good for Britain’s environment
CityMetric
Finally, our map of the week – which, I’ll be honest, we do no justice to whatsoever – is this magnificent piece of work by Duncan Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced spatial Analysis. It shows, at a glance, the growth of all the world’s major cities

Continue reading »

We’ve toured Winston Churchill’s secret base on the Piccadilly Line – CityMetric


CityMetric

We’ve toured Winston Churchill’s secret base on the Piccadilly Line
CityMetric
Before it became crucial to winning the Second World War, Down Street tube station was a bit useless. A stop on the Piccadilly Line (back when the line was known as the Great Northern Piccadilly and Brompton Railway), it was in the heart of Mayfair

and more »

Continue reading »

London’s Canals & Rivers

These attractive hand-drawn maps have been produced for a pocket guide “London’s Canals & Rivers” published by the Canal & River Trust by illustrator and cartographer Bek Cruddace. They show the navigable waterways around London, including the Thames and Lea Rivers and the Regent’s and Grand Union canals. The maps are designed for walkers and […]

Continue reading »

The man who voiced the “Mind the Gap” announcement has died – CityMetric


CityMetric

The man who voiced the “Mind the Gap” announcement has died
CityMetric
Finally, our map of the week – which, I’ll be honest, we do no justice to whatsoever – is this magnificent piece of work by Duncan Smith of UCL’s Centre for Advanced spatial Analysis. It shows, at a glance, the growth of all the world’s major cities

and more »

Continue reading »

ERC Advanced Grant: Extreme Citizen Science: Analysis and Visualisation

Now that the press release by the European Research Council (ERC) is out, it’s time to share the great news: The Extreme Citizen Science group has secured €2.5m from the ERC to continue our journey towards Intelligent Maps. Building on the work that we’ve done with the support of the EPSRC in Extreme Citizen Science,  and the … Continue reading ERC Advanced Grant: Extreme Citizen Science: Analysis and Visualisation

Continue reading »

Economists should start doing themselves out of a job

The reason why teaching undergrads is the best job I’ve ever done is because interacting with intelligent, energetic people is not the once-in-a-while happy coincidence it is in most jobs, but it’s the central purpose of what you’re supposed to be doing. Sure, there are the hours of marking, the jocks, the whingers (colleagues that … Continue reading “Economists should start doing themselves out of a job”

Continue reading »
1 62 63 64 65 66 173