News

Prof. Knaap to speak on Cities of Tomorrow Panel

The Office for Science and Technology (OST) of the Embassy of France in the US is pleased to announce a fourth episode in the Cities of Tomorrow webinar series. It will take place on Wednesday, July 20th, 2021 between 11:00-12:30 (EST).

Register here: 

The OST will welcome the presence of Nacima Baron and Isabelle Gournay (Université Gustave Eiffel, UMD), Alain L’Hostis (Université Gustave Eiffel) and Gerrit Knaap (UMD, Smart Initiative), who will collectively talk about challenges and new approaches in the development of stations districts focusing on the greater DC area and France.

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Each webinar starts by short presentations (15-20 min each) by project leaders with a chance for registered participants to ask some questions and discuss with the experts. Other observers are encouraged to reach out to the OST for further information on the presentations or to connect with the experts afterwards.

This series of webinars will culminate in a French-American Innovation Day (FAID), a physical event in Washington, DC which will take place when possible in 2021 or in the beginning of 2022.

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Nick FinioJul 19No Comments

Planning for Thriving Cities: perspectives in, and on, Ireland – Webinar

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Planning for Thriving Cities: perspectives in, and on, Ireland – Webinar

NCSG’s research partner organization in Ireland, the ICLRD, invite you to join a webinar about thriving cities.
The ICLRD Are delighted to invite you to the fifth webinar as part of its ‘Post-Pandemic Planning’ Series.

When: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 – 15:30 to 16:45
Where: Online

This webinar will explore how cities, on the island of Ireland and elsewhere, can envision and plan for more sustainable, inclusive, and thriving futures for all. Cities are central to many contemporary societal challenges. From climate change to the significant socio-economic inequalities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, urban populations are at the forefront of both the impacts and the actions needed to address these intersecting concerns. With increasing emphasis on community wellbeing, people and planetary health as key outcomes of development, cities including Amsterdam are adopting strategies such as the “City Doughnut” to drive their transformation, for example, towards a circular economy. As cities on the island of Ireland seek to progress their own agendas within this space, now is a critical moment to think about the future desired for our cities, reflect on experiences from other places and times, and learn about practical interventions happening in the here and now that can contribute to co-creating thriving cities.

Event Programme

Moderator: Dr Andrew McClelland, Research Associate, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester & Senior Research Associate, ICLRD

Welcome from ICLRD Chair: Ms. Mary MacIntyre, OBE

Speakers:

Prof. Mark Tewdwr Jones, Professor of Cities and Regions at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, The Bartlett, UCL

Mr. John O’Hara, City Planning Officer, Dublin City Council

Ms. Rita Harkin, Northern Ireland Support Officer, Architectural Heritage Fund

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Nick FinioJul 19No Comments

NCSG hiring Post-Doctoral researchers in transportation

One or more fully funded 12-month post-doctoral positions are available to work with a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth (NCSG) and Center for Geospatial Information Science (CGIS), as well as industry and local government partners. Apply for the position here, and contact nfinio@umd.edu with questions. One or more of the post-doctoral researcher(s) will have a key role in an ongoing project to model ridership across the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) system using survey data, smart card trip data, and an array of factors related to travel, transit ridership, land use, built environment, urban form, and transport infrastructure. A key task will be to enhance a previously developed ridership model using new data sources and through the application of geospatial analytical techniques.  The post-doctoral researcher(s) could also participate in other projects currently underway at NCSG and CGIS.
  • A primary task of the post-doctoral researcher(s) will be to lead model development and enhancement efforts within the UMD NCSG-CGIS team. Team members previously developed a ridership model in 2015 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.06.011). However, ridership trends have since evolved and the transit system has expanded. At the same time, new built environment and ridership-related variables have become available as well as new machine learning-based approaches for modeling space-time trends. As a result, roles of the postdoctoral researcher(s) on this project will include: (1) collecting and managing a database of diverse variables; (2) creating new variables based on the transportation network, points-of-interest, and neighborhood characteristics; (3) updating the currently existing model; (4) enhancing the ridership model with new variables and the incorporation of spatial dependence structures; (5) employing the ridership model to understand the factors responsible for generating ridership across different types of stations and forecasting future scenarios; and (6) drafting progress reports. The post-doctoral researcher(s) will work closely with the other project members and partnering organizations on model integration, scenario development and analysis, and testing. The project will provide a unique opportunity to work in a truly multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational team composed of transportation and urban planning researchers, geospatial information scientists, local planners, and technologists.
  • While some of the work is specific to the WMATA project, candidates will be considered for work on other projects as well.  These include projects funded by the Federal Transit Administration focused on transit-oriented development in an anticipated light rail corridor, a project funded by the Maryland Department of Transportation focused on travel behavior pre- and post-pandemic, and a project funded by the International Center for Local and Regional Development on commuting patterns in the Republic of Ireland.  Skills and experience in land market analysis, accessibility analysis, and survey methods are sought for work on these projects.
  • We seek highly motivated and self-driven candidates with good interpersonal skills and the ability to thrive in a diverse, multidisciplinary environment. The successful applicant will have a strong background and research experience in a transportation-related field.
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Nick FinioJul 19No Comments