Together with collaborators at the UM School of Information, I am helping organize another Urban Informatics Unconference this fall, to be held from noon-5pm on Friday, October 20th. Here’s some more information:
Urban informatics is an interdisciplinary field of research and practice that uses information technology for the analysis, management, planning, design, inhabitation, and usability of cities. It encompasses not only technical skills for technology development and data analysis, but also the exploration of the ethical, legal, and policy questions created by new urban technologies. Urban informatics links several scholarly and professional fields including information science, engineering, urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, environmental planning, and more.
Urban Informatics Ann Arbor is an unconference to connect people working in this emerging field at the University of Michigan and in the Detroit metropolitan region. The event will kick off with an opening session highlighting urban informatics work at Michigan and in the region:
- Erica Raleigh, Data Driven Detroit
- Joseph Gacioch, Assistant City Manager of Ferndale
- Tait Chamberlain, UM Citizen Interaction Design Project
- Seth Guikema, UM College of Engineering
- Allie Cell, Michigan Data Science Team
Following this session, the group will collectively create the day’s agenda. Participants are encouraged to bring questions, problems, or projects to share during participatory sessions. These include might prepared materials or presentation slides, however presenters should remain flexible and plan to speak for no more than 15 minutes.