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Thesis title: Near Real Time Urban Data Spaces
Primary supervisor: Professor Andrew Hudson-Smith
Secondary supervisor: Dr Adam Dennett
Starting date: September, 2015
Projected completion date: November, 2018
Urban environments today generate large volumes of spatially and temporally located data. The availability of this data affords a wealth of opportunities for city authorities and private companies to monitor and optimise the functioning of urban systems in near real time. While a proportion of this data derives from sensors embedded in transport infrastructure and the built environment, much of it is generated by citizens themselves. This data comes from their everyday use of mobile devices, their participation in social networks, and their use of smart cards for travel. Increasingly they also contribute to the construction of this data infrastructure through their use of Maker and Hacker spaces to create their own devices which can be networked via the Internet of Things. Much of this data exists in silos which may hinder interoperability and innovation, but may also serve to protect specific private and public interests. What interfaces best support access to and communication of this data? How can and should this data be linked, analysed and visualised in order to best support decision making, not only for the benefit of city authorities and private companies, but more importantly for the equitable benefit of citizens?
Oliver has a BA in Philosophy, MA in Critical Methodologies and MRes in Advanced Spatial Analysis and Visualisation. His research interests include urbanism, political philosophy, participatory planning, public space, 3D visualisation, computer vision, virtual and augmented reality interfaces. Perspectives on these issues are developed with reference to Critical theory, political Agonism, Assemblage theory, Science and Technology Studies and Complexity science.