Robert Goodspeed on Data-Driven Urban Transformation

The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon welcomes you to attend the lecture “Towards Data-Driven Urban Transformation: Envisioning Uncertain Futures with Scenario Planning” by Robert Goodspeed, chair and associate professor of Urban Planning at University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, as part of the Fall 2024 CUSP Research Seminar Series.
Lecture Title
Towards Data-Driven Urban Transformation: Envisioning Uncertain Futures with Scenario Planning
Lecture Abstract
New technologies are producing knowledge and models of cities with unprecedented detail, but are also introducing uncertainties that pose a challenge for long-term planning. Urban scenario planning responds to these developments by integrating modeling and simulation tools with the analysis of uncertainty. A methodology for long-term strategic planning that enables communities to create and analyze multiple plausible versions of the future, scenario planning can be used to envision sustainability or enhance resilience. After highlighting innovative examples of urban scenarios from professional practice, I’ll discuss a collaborative, multi-year project to conduct data-driven scenario planning for public transit with community stakeholders in Benton Harbor, Michigan, as well as two engaged projects to create data infrastructures needed for innovative planning: the Michigan Zoning Atlas and racial covenant mapping project Justice InDeed.
About the Speaker
Robert Goodspeed, PhD, AICP is chair and associate professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He teaches and conducts research in the areas of urban informatics, planning support systems, and scenario planning theory and methods, and is author of the book Scenario Planning for Cities and Regions: Managing and Envisioning Uncertain Futures.
Visitor Information for In-Person Attendees
Please visit the NYU Tandon website for directions and a campus map. Advance registration through Eventbrite is required for campus access at NYU for external guests. Attendees who are not current students, faculty, or staff at NYU, including alumni, are asked to register using a personal email address.

About the Urban Science Research Seminar Series
The Center for Urban Science + Progress’s annual Research Seminar series features leading voices in the growing field of urban informatics examining real-world challenges facing cities and urban environments around the world. The Fall 2024 series is organized by Urban Science Faculty Fellows Mehak Sachdeva and Zhaoxi Zhang together with Assistant Professors Takahiro Yabe, Qi Sun, and Graham Dove.
Speakers for the Fall 2024 series include Yuki Miura (NYU), Prince Michael Amegbor (NYU), Vivek Singh (Rutgers University), Geoff Boeing (University of Southern California), Robert Goodspeed (University of Michigan), and Yanxiao Feng (New Jersey Institute of Technology).

Host or Publisher NYU Center for Urban Science + Progress