City Informatics, this blog, will share research and thoughts on many fields – from urban planning, design and architecture to human-computer interaction, spatial information and analysis to social media and transport systems. While these are diverse topics this blog will draw upon their intersections – at people, place and technology.
City planning as an interest developed through studying where I grew up, Melbourne. Melbourne is an interesting case ; the world continuously anoints it as one of the most liveable cities ; yet the public ceaselessly criticizes all aspects of its transport infrastructure.
I have studied Urban Design & Planning and Informatics at the University of Melbourne. Through this I developed a strong interest in solving urban problems – food security, climate change, overpopulation with a continuous lens towards sustainability. The interaction between people and technology also drives me – particularly the information that is broadcast from these interactions that decision-makers can use to manage urban problems, as well as that smart citizens can use to solve them individually and collectively.
I now live and study in one of the world’s most global cities, London, working towards a Master of Research in Advanced Spatial Analysis and Visualisation. This is at CASA – an innovative and exciting lab, combining the skills of computer scientists, mathematicians, urban planners and architects to using and developing latest visualisation and modelling technologies to provide knowledge and insights to tackling these urban issues.
For example, this data visualisation of train journeys in London, Pulse of the City from Jon Reades on Vimeo.
Through this blog I would like to share and discuss my thoughts on this field with readers, as well as use as a platform to share and discuss others’ thoughts/work that I find interesting or useful. Where possible I would like to also provide tips for undertaking this kind of work, as many times I have found very valuable information on blogs .. for free!
If you would like to get in contact, please email me at oliverclock@gmail.com or tweet me at @oc_lock.