UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

Last updated

The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) is a research centre at University College London (UCL), which specialises in the application and visualisation of spatial analytic techniques and simulation models to cities and regions. It is a constituent department of The Bartlett Faculty of the Built-Environment (The Bartlett School).

Contents

History

CASA was established in 1995 by a group of UCL academics who wanted a focus for their research across different academic departments in the field of geographic information systems (GIS). Michael Batty was appointed the first director and initially held a joint appointment as Professor of Spatial Analysis and Planning in the Departments of Geography and The Bartlett School of Planning. He is now Chairman of the centre. In 2000, Paul Longley was appointed deputy director and Professor of Geographic Information Science. He now directs UCL's ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC). [1] CASA is still largely funded through research grants but from 2010 it began to diversify, introducing Masters programmes in spatial analysis and in Smart Cities. Professor Andrew Hudson-Smith took over the directorship in 2011 and appointed a deputy director, Dr Adam Dennett in 2016. Adam Dennett is now the director of the Centre and associate professor. Masters courses developed since 2010 include MSc's in Smart Cities and Urban Analytics [2] and Spatial Data Science and Visualisation. [3] It currently has 10 lecturers/associate Professors and two teaching fellows leading its courses. Sir Alan Wilson was appointed Professor of Urban and Regional Systems in 2008 but moved to the Turing Institute in 2016. The centre is now an administrative unit in The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment.

Research areas

CASA researches the science of cities, working with city governments and related research groups on simulating and visualising urban problems. Their work on transport and movement has included Transport for London’s Oyster card data, [4] public bikes schemes such as the London's cycle hire scheme, [5] population segregation in large cities [6] as well as climate change in the London region. [7] The centre is active in exploring how the Internet of Things can be deployed in large urban areas linking objects in the built environment through internet technologies, [8] and was active with the Technology Strategy Board’s Future Cities Catapult in pioneering new software systems for smart cities such as dashboards and portals. [9] Its research programme in city science concentrates on applying social physics to urban systems based on modelling the diffusion of behaviours such as the 2011 London riots [10] and it is heavily involved in using methods of scaling and allometry to examine city performance. [11]

Research programme

CASA's research programme is primarily funded by research grants from the British research councils, mainly ESRC and EPSRC. Since 2008, the centre has been increasingly funded by EU research grants from the 7th Framework and from the European Research Council (ERC) and in 2014, it was awarded funding from the Technology Strategy Board's Future Cities Catapult [12] to provide demonstration capabilities for urban and regional modelling.

CASA has graduated some 50 PhDs since 2000. Several alumni have made important contributions to the science of cities working in geographic information systems, spatial analysis and urban modelling at UC Berkeley, Maryland, NYU, George Mason, UCL, KRISH, LSE, TU-Istanbul, KCL, Cardiff, Tehran, Manchester, OU, ETH-Zurich, kingston, Malta, Warwick, Birkbeck, and Liverpool. OpenStreetMap (OSM) originated in UCL CASA and The Bartlett, and the firms GeoFutures [13] and Intelligent Space (acquired by Atkins) were associated with the centre. The company Prospective Labs spun-off from CASA in 2016 and is engaged on developing new software systems for planning and land management.

Contributions

Members of CASA have pioneered the development of urban and regional modelling through a series of books that go back to the 1970s. Their work is published in a series of web sites on the CASA Blog Aggregator. [14] Key works that reflect CASA's research programme are Fractal Cities (1994), [15] Cities and Complexity (2005), [16] The Science of Cities and Regions (2012), [17] Agent Based Model of Geographical Systems (2012), [18] and The New Science of Cities (2013). [19] The journals Environment and Planning B , [20] edited by Batty, and Future Internet, [21] edited by Hudson-Smith, are run from CASA. The major research focus of CASA is in blending the visualisation of complex urban systems with their simulation.

Related Research Articles

Computational archaeology describes computer-based analytical methods for the study of long-term human behaviour and behavioural evolution. As with other sub-disciplines that have prefixed 'computational' to their name, the term is reserved for methods that could not realistically be performed without the aid of a computer.

Space syntax

The term space syntax encompasses a set of theories and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations. It was conceived by Bill Hillier, Julienne Hanson, and colleagues at The Bartlett, University College London in the late 1970s to early 1980s to develop insights into the mutually constructive relation between society and space. As space syntax has evolved, certain measures have been found to correlate with human spatial behavior, and space syntax has thus come to be used to forecast likely effects of architectural and urban space on users.

Sir Alan Geoffrey Wilson FAcSS is a British mathematician and social scientist, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds and a professor at University College London.

The Bartlett

The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment is the academic centre for the study of the built environment at University College London (UCL), part of the University of London in London, United Kingdom. It is home to twelve departments that have expertise in individual fields of the built-environment, including the Bartlett School of Architecture, Bartlett School of Planning, Bartlett Development Planning Unit, and Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. The Bartlett is consistently ranked the highest in Europe and the UK and among the highest in the world for the "Architecture and the Built-Environment" category in all major rankings. In the 2019 QS World University Rankings, it was ranked first in the world, and was ranked second in the 2021 Rankings.

Spatial network analysis software packages are analytic software used to prepare graph-based analysis of spatial networks. They stem from research fields in transportation, architecture, and urban planning. The earliest examples of such software include the work of Garrison (1962), Kansky (1963), Levin (1964), Harary (1969), Rittel (1967), Tabor (1970) and others in the 1960s and 70s. Specific packages address to suit their domain-specific needs, including TransCAD for transportation, GIS for planning and geography, and Axman for Space syntax researchers.

Spatial analysis Formal techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties

Spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques, many still in their early development, using different analytic approaches and applied in fields as diverse as astronomy, with its studies of the placement of galaxies in the cosmos, to chip fabrication engineering, with its use of "place and route" algorithms to build complex wiring structures. In a more restricted sense, spatial analysis is the technique applied to structures at the human scale, most notably in the analysis of geographic data or transcriptomics data.

Nikos Salingaros Greek-Australian-American mathematician, architecture theorist and polymath

Nikos Angelos Salingaros is a mathematician and polymath known for his work on urban theory, architectural theory, complexity theory, and design philosophy. He has been a close collaborator of the architect Christopher Alexander, with whom Salingaros shares a harsh critical analysis of conventional modern architecture. Like Alexander, Salingaros has proposed an alternative theoretical approach to architecture and urbanism that is more adaptive to human needs and aspirations, and that combines rigorous scientific analysis with deep intuitive experience.

Simin Davoudi FAcSS is Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning at Newcastle University. She is Past President of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and, as coordinator of the Planning Research Network, advised the Department of Communities and Local Government on its research priorities until 2007. Currently, she is a member of the DCLG Expert Panel on Housing market and Planning, and is expert advisor for the DG Environment of European Commission for Urban Environment.

Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds

The Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) is a school within the Environment Faculty of the University of Leeds in the UK. The institute is one of the leading centres for teaching and research in transport in the United Kingdom, and attracts a number of students from outside the UK for its Masters and PhD programmes.

Bin Jiang is a professor in geographic information science, geographic information systems or geoinformatics at the University of Gävle, Sweden. He is affiliated to the Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm (KTH) through the KTH Research School at Gävle. He has been coordinating the Nordic Network in Geographic Information Science (NordGISci), and has organized a series of NordGISci summer schools for the Nordic young researchers. He is the founder and chair of the International Cartographic Association Commission on Geospatial Analysis and Modeling, and has established an ICA workshop series on the research topic. He is also an associate editor of the international journal: Computers, Environment and Urban Systems (Elsevier). He has developed the Head/tail Breaks a new classification for data with a heavy-tailed distribution.

Geodesign is a set of concepts and methods used to involve all stakeholders and various professions in collaboratively designing and realizing the optimal solution for spatial challenges in the built and natural environments, utilizing all available techniques and data in an integrated process. Originally, geodesign was mainly applied during the design and planning phase. "Geodesign is a design and planning method which tightly couples the creation of design proposals with impact simulations informed by geographic contexts." Now, it is also used during realization and maintenance phases and to facilitate re-use of for example buildings or industrial areas. Geodesign includes project conceptualization, analysis, design specification, stakeholder participation and collaboration, design creation, simulation, and evaluation.

Paul Longley British geographer (born 1959)

Paul A. Longley is a British geographer. He is Professor of Geographic Information Science (GISci) at University College London (UCL), UK, where he also directs the ESRC Consumer Data Research Centre. Prior to joining UCL in July 2000, he was the Professor of Geography at the University of Bristol.

Patrick Alasdair Fionn Turner (19 October 1969 – 6 October 2011) was a British-born scientist, who played a major role in the VR Centre for the Built Environment and the Space group at the University College London. His contribution had a great impact on the development of space syntax theory. This goes in parallel to his research into introducing a dynamic agent model that derives aggregate spatial analysis from the visual affordances of the built environment. Based on the principles of Turner's theory on Embodied space, his agent model proves to correlate well with natural movement behavior in architectural and urban environments. Turner was born on 19 October 1969, in London. He earned an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh. Turner was last appointed a reader in Urban and Architectural Computing at the University College London in 2011. Turner died on 6 October 2011 after a long struggle with stomach cancer.

Michael Batty British urban planner

Michael Batty CBE, FBA, FRS, FAcSS is a British urban planner, geographer and spatial data scientist, and Bartlett Professor of Planning in The Bartlett at University College London. He has been Director—now Chairman—of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, set up when he was appointed to UCL in 1995. His research and the work of CASA is focused on computer models of city systems. He was awarded the William Alonso Prize of the Regional Science Association in 2011 for his book Cities and Complexity, the same prize a second time for his book The New Science of Cities in 2017–2018, the University Consortium GIS Research Award in 2012, and the Lauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud, the so-called 'Nobel for geography', in 2013. In 2015, he was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and in 2016, the Gold Medal of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). He also received the Senior Scholar Award of the Complex Systems Society in September 2016.

The UK Data Service is the largest digital repository for quantitative and qualitative social science and humanities research data in the UK. This national data service integrates and builds on investments the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has made in UK research infrastructure for over 50 years, including the UK Data Archive, Economic and Social Data Service, the Secure Data Service, Census Programme and Survey Question Bank.

CJ Lim is the Academic Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London (UCL); and served as Vice-Dean and Pro-Provost of University College London. He is the founder and director of Studio 8 Architects, a UK-based multidisciplinary and international practice in sustainable urban planning, architecture and landscape, focusing on interpretations of social, cultural and environmental programmes. Along with Simon Dickens and Bernd Felsinger (2006-2016), Lim leads PG Unit 10 within The Bartlett School of Architecture's Architecture MArch course.

UCL Urban Laboratory

UCL Urban Laboratory is a cross-disciplinary centre for the study of cities and urbanisation, based at University College London. It carries out research, education and outreach activities both in London and internationally. The Urban Laboratory was established in 2005. UCL Urban Lab co-operates with four UCL departments – The Bartlett; Engineering, Social and Historical Sciences; and Arts and Humanities. The current director is Dr Clare Melhuish, who took on the role from Dr Ben Campkin in 2018.

Urban informatics refers to the study of people creating, applying and using information and communication technology and data in the context of cities and urban environments. It sits at the conjunction of urban science, geomatics, and informatics, with an ultimate goal of creating more smart and sustainable cities. Various definitions are available, some provided in the Definitions section.

LSE Cities is a research centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jane Rendell is an architectural historian, cultural critic and art writer. She has taught at Chelsea College of Art and Design, Winchester School of Art, and the University of Nottingham. She has been based at the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL since 2000, where she has been Professor of Architecture and Art since 2008, teaching primarily across the Situated Practice, Architectural History and PhD programmes. She was Director of Architectural Research (2004–10) and Vice Dean Research (2010-3). She is currently Director of Architectural History and Theory and leads the Bartlett’s Ethics Commission.

References

  1. ↑ UCL and Big Data: Funding announcement (dated 6 February 2014). Accessed 6 July 2014.
  2. ↑ MSc in Smart Cities and Urban Analytics
  3. ↑ MSc in Spatial Data Science and Visualisation
  4. ↑ London’s Tube and big data: Underground movement The Economist 14 July 2012
  5. ↑ Hussey, Matt, Boris-bike routes for a city with no Tube, Wired Magazine 2 March 2011 Archived 3 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Pickford, James and Giles, Chris (2012), London: The world in a city, Financial Times, 23 July 2012
  7. ↑ Centre extends science of planning, Planning Resource, 19 June 2009
  8. ↑ Cookson, Clive (2011) ’Internet of things’ is set to come, Financial Times, 14 September 2011
  9. ↑ Dean, Will (2012) Will Dean's Ideas Factory: Everything you wanted to know about your city, The Independent, 10 May 2012
  10. ↑ Geere, Duncan (2012) Model suggests earlier response could have shortened London riots, Wired Magazine, 20 April 2012
  11. ↑ The laws of the city, The Economist, 21 June 21, 2012
  12. ↑ "Future Cities Catapult"
  13. ↑ "GeoFutures"
  14. ↑ "The CASA Blog Aggregator"
  15. ↑ Michael Batty & Paul Longley (1994) Fractal Cities: A Geometry of Form and Function (Academic Press, San Diego, CA and London)
  16. ↑ Michael Batty (2005) Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals (MIT Press, Cambridge MA and London)
  17. ↑ The Science of Cities and Regions (2012)
  18. ↑ Agent Based Model of Geographical Systems (2012)
  19. ↑ The New Science of Cities (2013)
  20. ↑ Environment and Planning B
  21. ↑ Future Internet
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.