CUSUP Research Seminar on 28 March 2024 (Thursday) - Data Action: Using Data for A Public Good
organized by Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning
Viewed by HKU and Public
Event Type: Conference/Forum/Public Lecture/Seminar/Symposium/Talk/Workshop
Event Discipline: Architecture & Engineering

Please note that the CUSUP Research Seminar will be held online via Zoom on 28 March 2024 (Thursday), 09:30 to 10:30.

Please be ready 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time.

*Pre-registration required. Zoom link will be provided after the registration deadline. [Deadline: 27 March 2024 (Wednesday) 12:00 noon (HKT)]


Topic:
Data Action: Using Data for A Public Good

Speaker:
Prof. Sarah Williams
Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Schedule:
Date: 28 March 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 09:30-10:30 (HKT)

Abstract:
Prof. Williams will explain how we can use data as a tool for empowerment rather than oppression, something Williams calls "Data Action", which is also the title of her recent book. Data Action seeks to provide guidance for using data toward the benefit of society, learning from the ways we have used data unethically in the past and illustrating ways we can use it more ethically and creatively in the future. Williams will illustrate the seven Data Action principles through her diverse research projects spanning topics of Central American migration, popular transit in Africa, ghost cities in China, and translating New York City’s zoning text.

About the Speaker:
Prof. Sarah Williams is an Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is also Director of the Civic Data Design Lab and the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. Williams combines her training in computation and design to create communication strategies that expose urban policy issues to broad audiences and create civic change. She calls the process Data Action, the name of her recent book published by MIT Press. Williams is co-founder and developer of Envelope.city, a web-based software product that visualizes and allows users to modify zoning in New York City. Before coming to MIT, Williams was Co-Director of the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Her design work has been widely exhibited, including work in the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Venice Biennale, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. Williams has won numerous awards, including being named one of the top 25 technology planners, Game Changer by Metropolis Magazine, and most recently won an Anthem Award for the best use of data in the humanitarian sector. Her latest exhibition at the World Food Program (WFP), Distance Unknown, explores the risks and opportunities of migration to the Americas and helped to influence recent US migration policies. She has also just released a tool with Transportation Alternatives called Spatial Equity NYC.

Date/Time 28/03/2024 09:30-10:30 Language English

Registration is open from 01/03/2024 12:00(HKT) to 27/03/2024 12:00(HKT) on a first-come-first-served basis.