Observing Cities – A systematic review of technologies for observing cities
Behind the many different data sources available to innovate geospatial technologies are large data infrastructures needed to produce and process geospatial data. We risk forgetting about those infrastructures and how they shape geoscience practices. Focussing on how practices of observing cities have changed in light of new remote sensing technologies, this project will take stock of the increasing importance of those technologies in how cities are run. Projects for this topic can be developed from the city up (critically evaluating why a specific image based geodata technology becomes a critical aspect of urban governance practices) or from the sky down (critically evaluating projects that specifically push remote sensing technologies for addressing urban challenges).
The primary objectives of projects in this theme should be to:
- Acquire the ability to critically evaluate geo-data technologies and their social implications
- Contribute to an emerging field of research on critical data studies and migration through specific case studies
- Develop and apply social science research skills and (if appropriate) link those with specific GIS skills (e.g., mapping dataflows or actors to explain current migration information infrastructures).
As this theme allows for different research questions, the methodological approach of the specific project of a student will depend on the precise project question that the student develops during proposal writing. Mixed method approaches are encouraged, especially the creative use of spatial technologies and spatial data in the process of research as well as innovative social science methodologies such as network analytic approaches. It is likely that the analysis of textual data sources (e.g., policy documents, newspaper articles, expert interviews) will be appropriate.
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Akbari, Azadeh (2020): Follow the Thing. Data. In Antipode 52 (2), pp. 408–429. DOI: 10.1111/anti.12596.
Iliadis, Andrew; Russo, Federica (2016): Critical data studies. An introduction. In Big Data & Society 3 (2), 205395171667423. DOI: 10.1177/2053951716674238.
The use of remote sensing applications increasingly shapes urban governance. This creates wicked problems as new socio-technical entanglements are often insufficiently understood. By choosing this topic, you can critically explore the link between urban governance and remote sensing applications - questioning the values and priorities that go into solving wicked problems. To take this kind of viewpoint, you will need to be able to read across disciplines and enjoy critically questioning the why of solutionist approaches.