All Things Urban

In September 2019, the Urban Data Lab (UDL) was formed through a Campus as Living Lab grant to advance data access, data management and data analytics capabilities on campus, with the goal of addressing campus-wide sustainability challenges.

As of 2012, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and there are no signs of that trend reversing. The latest UN forecast predicts that 70 percent of the World’s population will be living in cities by 2050. Demand on built environments and infrastructures will grow accordingly, and pressures on cities, large and small, will become acute. Cities will be confronting profound sustainability, health and wellbeing, security, economic and technology challenges. At the core of these problems is the need for a research intensive integrated analytic approach, working across disciplines and prospecting for new approaches to the design, management and evolution of the cities of the future to create resilient, livable, healthy and prosperous urban environments for generations to come The University of British Columbia is positioning itself to address these challenges, through investments research and innovations on the campus that respond to climate and sustainability commitments. UBC is developing the campus into a living lab with projects that tackle a wide range of urban challenges, including urban heat and power (BioEnergy Research and Demonstration Facility), sustainable construction (Brock Commons Tallwood House), enhanced mobility (Clean Connected and Safe Transportation test-bed) and building management (Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability). In each case, these projects have engaged campus development and operations along with multiple academic research teams. The Urban Data Lab at UBC-Vancouver campus seeks a full time Data Science Research Assistant to undertake work for a campus-wide sustainability data platform. The position will be responsible for identifying, researching and developing models (e.g. machine learning, agent-based, geographical information systems). This work will complement the development of a sustainability data platform at UBC that facilitates “campus as living lab” research. Organizational Status The mission of the Urban Data Lab (UDL) is to ensure UBC’s leadership on sustainability is backed up by quantifiable estimates of performance that the University obtains as an organization as it operates a City. The UDL’s current focus is to develop a sustainability data platform to support campus operational staff and researchers requiring data on a multi-modal transportation network, building performance and the natural assets. The UDL delivers value to UBC by advancing the campuses sustainability related data and IT practices and to the research community by curating open access to high valued data sets. To ensure UBC’s leadership on sustainability is backed up by quantifiable estimates of performance that the University obtains as an organization as it operates a City. The UDL operates as a collaborative team environment of industry, academic and policy professionals working on large scale and complex problems. The work environment of the UDL is fast-paced and project milestones focused. Work Performed Identification and mapping of available data sets for UBC (Vancouver + Okanagan) campus, including ownership and access requirements and restrictions Research and development of use-cases for campus data sets, such as Wi-fi connectiy data to inform models of building occupancy or campus travel activity. - Assists with analysis of data-sets for potential applications and creation of visualizations, where relevant. - Assists with preliminary testing and development of standardized procedures, processes and organizational frameworks to increase accessibility and usability of campus data for both large-scale research and operational endeavors, while addressing privacy and security issues. - Facilitates collaborations between UBC’s Urban Data Lab and Faculty & Operations research partners - Assists with the development of reports, presentations and other deliverables to support changes in practices within UBC. - Assist with development of academic publications and/or policy/industry facing materials summarizing transferable lessons learned. - Contribute to research outputs that lead to co-publication with academic supervisors, with their research support and guidance. - Assists with the planning and running of meetings and workshops around open-data on campus. - Performs other related duties as required. Supervision Received Works under direct supervision with detailed instructions and input; routine duties are carried out under general supervision. Academic supervision of the project will be by Dr. Mike Kennedy Supervision Given Directly supervised by Dr Mike Kennedy, Director of the Urban Data Lab Consequence of Error/Judgment The position is expected to exercise good judgment and discretion in communications and access of UBC materials and information, and follow UBC policy and guidelines in terms of privacy, security and procedures related to campus data. Qualifications - University degree in natural science, computer science, engineering or other relevant discipline. - Advance programming skills - Experience in data science, analytics and modelling. - An interest in sustainability in general and innovation opportunities related to applications and use of data for research and decision-making. - Good problem solving and decision making skills are essential. - Excellent oral and written communication, interpersonal and organizational skills. - Strong technical communication skills, both written and visual (e.g. graphs and diagrams). - Ability to be thorough, accurate, and have a high level of attention to detail. - Ability to work effectively independently and collaboratively within a team environment. - Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships. - Ability to obtain and disseminate information effectively and tactfully with individuals from all levels of the University.

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