Data-Driven Urban Research Tools Within Design Education: New Perspectives on Complex Urban Data and Processes

Abstract

The rapid development of information and communication technologies and their increasing integration within the built environment have enabled a wide range of research opportunities grouped under a new discipline of urban science. The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in urban design education, however, has mostly focused on advances in computing and data science tools, while complex urban issues such as sustainability, health and social development call for more integrated approaches to urban research and design. This paper reports on the development of a toolkit of analytical methods for urban studies, introduced within a postgraduate research and design studio. The enhanced processes of teaching and learning explored multi-source urban data and geospatial analysis, to help students to better understand site conditions, urban development patterns and resident behaviour, gaining a deeper understanding of the social processes that constitute urban neighbourhoods. The data-driven analysis methods helped obtain evidence-based insights into public space usage, reflecting on different stakeholder interests and their influence on the material and immaterial structures of the city. The project shows how data-based urban design pedagogy can respond to social science issues, to bridge the gap between urban research and planning practice and support the conception of more sustainable urban design outcomes.