Speaker: Rob Kitchin, Director of National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis and Professor of Geography at National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Title: The Real-Time City? Big Data and Smart Urbanism

Location: CGIS South Room S450

Abstract: ‘Smart cities’ is a term that has gained traction in academia, business and government to describe cities that, on the one hand, are increasingly composed of and monitored by pervasive and ubiquitous computing and, on the other, whose economy and governance is being driven by innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, enacted by smart people. This paper focuses on the former and how cities are being instrumented with digital devices and infrastructure that produce ‘big data’ which enable real-time analysis of city life, new modes of technocratic urban governance, and a re-imagining of cities. The paper details a number of projects that seek to produce a real-time analysis of the city and provides a critical reflection on the implications of big data and smart urbanism.

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ABCD-GIS September Special Presentation:“Development and Implementation of Southern California Planning Model (SCPM)” By Qisheng Pan, Ph.D., Texas Southern University.  Room 262, CGIS Knafel, 1737 Cambridge St.

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Speaker: Arzu Coltekin, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Title: What you see is what you get? – Experimenting with concepts from vision for geographic visualization (View flyer)

Abstract: Dr. Coltekin presents studies where she and her collaborators investigate what we can learn from human vision and exploit in geographic visualization for computational and human efficiency. The presentation covers two perspectives: Theoretical considerations (e.g. models of vision, illusions) and usability studies with eye tracking (e.g. where do we look, how long, how many times). The connections are drawn to geovisualization from these two perspectives and initial results from several experiments are discussed.

Location: CGIS South building, Room S050

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Speaker: Carl Steinitz

Title: “ Ways of Designing and The Roles of GIS“ (88 MB video) ( view flyer)

Abstract: GIS was a significant design tool in an experiment in which 9 teams designed the same 2-D and 3-D projects (a landscape plan for Redlands CA and a large Transit Oriented Development near Esri), BUT each team had to use one of the 9 design methods described in his book “A Framework for Geodesign”.   

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Spearker: Meghan Cope, Chair and Professor of Geography at the University of Vermont. Co-sponsored with the Center on the Developing Child

Title: Teens, Technology, and Transportation

Location: Knafel Hall Room K262

Abstract: In the face of increasing sprawl and car-dependence in US metropolitan areas, young people - especially teens in middle-class suburbs – may be experiencing new mobilities generated by their near-universal adoption of cellphones and increasing access to private automobiles. The growth in the adoption of hand-held mobile devices that can be used for communication and information may enhance accessibility and independent mobility for certain segments of the youth population, especially those in higher socio-economic status households. In a project with teens in two high schools in Chittenden County, Vermont, we used a mix of methods to explore the rapid changes in teens’ lives fostered by tools such as cell phones, texting, mobile internet access, and various forms of messaging. In this study, we find that millennial teens use digital devices to construct new intersections between communication, information, and transportation. By also actively employing these devices in our research, we are using novel methods for understanding the ‘digital lives’ of teens, which represent a mix of traditional analog techniques and exploratory digital methodologies. In this presentation we examine issues including how often and in what ways high school students use advanced electronic communication tools to arrange transportation, what travel needs are being met and modes used, and how social processes contextualize the use of digital tools for mobility. We conclude by reflecting on how the daily lives of these teens may serve as a harbinger of emerging intersections of mobility, communication, and place.

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Speaker: By Dr. Thomas Burgoine.

Title: Is takeaway food environment exposure associated with takeaway consumption and body weight?  Evidence from a UK study of adults.

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Speaker: Dr. Anne Kelly Knowles, Middlebury College

Title: “Geographies of the Holocaust”

Abstract: The Holocaust was a profoundly geographical event that destroyed communities, displaced millions of people, and created new kinds of places of concentrated imprisonment, exploitation, and murder. Yet few scholars have examined the Holocaust from a geographical perspective. This lecture presents prototype studies by an international team of geographers and Holocaust scholars who are applying GIS and geovisualization techniques to the many scales of the Holocaust, from the continental spread of Nazi concentration camps to Auschwitz to the daily experiences of Jews confined in the Budapest ghetto. Knowles will also discuss the challenges this interdisciplinary project has posed for both database design and the writing of history. NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/arts/geographic-information-systems-help-scholars-see-history.html?pagewanted=all

Location: CGIS South building (1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge), Room S050

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Speaker: Jie Tian, Assistant Professor in GIS at Clark University

Title: Modeling the Environment Using Modern Geospatial Approaches (75 MB mp4)

Abstract: Accurate information on the spatial-temporal distributions of environmental variables (e.g., air pollution, soil moisture) at a regional scale is crucial for understanding environmental processes, as well as to impact studies on, for example, public health. Presently, many environmental variables are observed by both modern remote sensing and ground monitoring networks. However, the synthetic use of environmental information from these two sources poses a fundamental challenge because remotely sensed data differs very much from ground data in terms of spatial resolution, accuracy, coverage, and temporal frequency, due to the distinct means of their acquisition. It is therefore very important, in environmental monitoring and modeling, to be able to effectively integrate these two types of data for a maximum and appropriate use of the available information. This presentation will demonstrate an innovative research framework that can complement the advantages of remotely sensed data and ground-based data in modeling the spatial-temporal dynamics of an environmental variable. The Bayesian Maximum Entropy approach is used to process the “hard data” measured on the ground and the “soft data” estimated from remote sensing in a statistical and rigorous manner. The working research procedure will be illustrated by a case study of mapping air pollution at a regional scale using MODIS aerosol optical depth data and ground-based measurements of PM2.5 concentration. The presented research framework is believed to have a general value in research and practices of modeling various environmental variables, where the integration of remotely sensed information and ground survey data is a necessity.

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 Speaker: Matthew Wilson, University of Kentucky

Title: Toward attentional design in community-based critical GIS (230 MB mp4)

Location: Room S450, CGIS South

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Speakers: Timothy Wallace from the University of Wisconsin, and Andy Woodruff from Axis Maps.

Title: Bostonography (View the flyer)

Abstract: Spatial analysis and cartography reveal fascinating things about Boston in stunning fashion. This talk will highlight how GIS, and Cartography can reveal interesting things about our city. Public Welcome.

Location: Room K050, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge St.

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