Overview
Over the course of the semester we have developed a variety of data science skills and a considerable familiarity with building permits and their implications across the greater Boston region. This module there is a pressing job to do. This week, we are going to capitalize on the expertise we have developed with municipal administrative records to respond to a challenge posed by a visiting public sector partner. Much like real-world jobs in urban informatics, we will have a limited amount of time to generate a set of actionable insights and recommendations.
Learning Objectives
- Respond to a time-sensitive request for a targeted analysis
- Skill: Identify how the data to which you have access can help inform the concern at hand
- Skill: Execute and communicate the results of your analysis
- Describe the potential of network science for the study of the city
- Skill: Define the role of “nodes” and “links” in the structure of a network
- Skill: Identify the various classes of question that a network science approach might answer
Substantive Readings
Prompt
- “Sun et al. used network data—that is, the analysis of interconnections between individuals—to study the city. What did they learn? Do you see further promise in an urban network science?”