Abstract

As increasingly sophisticated technologies are permeating cities, buildings and everyday life, new opportunities for the research of urban processes are emerging. New tools for the data-driven analysis of social activities now allow us to analyse cities as dynamic systems, using high-resolution or time-based methods to grasp the real complexities of urban areas.

This project will develop a series of analytical tools for urban studies, focusing on the gathering, interpretation and visualisation of urban data and processes. It will develop methods currently used by advanced researchers and data scientists into formats that can be used intuitively and critically by students at undergraduate to postgraduate level.

The project aims to introduce students to analytical processes around open-source online databases, mobile phone applications, social media data and geographic information datasets, using processes such computational analytics, machine learning and data mapping. Through the creation of simple to use software and plugins, supported by online instruction and documentation, the methods can be integrated in existing course activities across the wider Faculty of Social Science. They may also be relevant to other fields, ranging from economics to medicine, as data-driven urban analytics and data-visualisation are becoming crucial tools to operate within tomorrow’s society and practice.