New York University

Description

The Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science (LOUD) is offering postdoctoral positions in urban planning & design, urban ecology, urban geography, and urban data science, sponsored by the LOUD postdoc program at NYU Shanghai. This program provides opportunities to collaborate and spend time overseas at institutions like the University of Oxford, Harvard University, New York University, etc.

About the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science

LOUD focuses on the cutting-edge research of computational urban science in planning (CUSP). The two specialized areas are urban design and urban science. We combine teaching and research by emphasizing practical aspects of urbanization, such as architecture, urban design, and urban development. We examine urban transformation in digital smart cities, emphasizing multidisciplinary aspects of urban planning, urban data science, urban ecology, and urban geography. More specifically, the three research areas are (1) planning for sustainable cities in the framework of digital urban transformation, (2) planning for the growth of climate responsive low carbon cities in the context of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, and (3) green-blue space planning using AI and urban sensing techniques.

LOUD concentrates on the successful practices of urban development in China. Building on both domestic and international experiences, we carry our research and practice in and beyond the Yangtze River Delta region, adapting scenarios in applied research and consultation, committed to carrying out high-quality practical exploration, forming innovative typical cases, and providing valuable policy suggestions.

As the first key laboratory of NYU Shanghai, we have gained full support from the school in the academic activity and beyond. We have a multidisciplinary team of scholars and students in the field of urban planning and design, urban ecology, urban geography, and data science. The key laboratory platform is passionate to bridge for overseas and Chinese scholars to exchange their thoughts and strengthen cooperation. The key laboratory established domestic collaboration with Tongji University, East China Normal University, Southeast University and Peking University in China, NYU Wagner, University of Chicago, Harvard University, and University of Oxford by selecting high-quality candidates of Masters and Ph.D. 

For more information, please refer to LOUD’s website:https://urban.shanghai.nyu.edu/

Job Description 

• Research area: Planning the future city of our lab involves three directions, including planning for sustainable cities in the framework of digital urban transformation, planning for the growth of climate responsive low carbon cities in the context of GHG mitigation, and green-blue space planning using AI and urban sensing techniques.
• Conduct research in the field of computational urban science in planning (CUSP).
• Publish high-quality SCIE and SSCI indexed academic papers in the field of urban planning, computational urban science, urban big data, urban ecology, and urban geography, participate in the writing of annual reports on relevant topics, and attend academic conferences.
• Participate in the collection, storage, and analysis of digital city-related data and the construction, maintenance, and operation of urban digital center.
• Complete other related research work arranged by the laboratory.

Employment Duration

• Starting date: Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 on a rolling basis.
• Contract length: 2-3 years. The first stage will be stationed at NYU Shanghai. The second stage will provide an opportunity to be stationed overseas or participate remotely from NYU Shanghai at the discretion of the candidate and advisors.

Terms of employment at NYU Shanghai are comparable to NYU New York and other U.S. institutions. 

Development Opportunities

• Annual academic conference support throughout the postdoc period.
• Application opportunities for major urban research projects and talent programs.
• Participate in cooperation with leading research institutions, leading enterprises, and non-profit organizations.

Qualifications

• The candidate should have a Ph.D. degree in the field of urban planning, urban design, public administration, computer science, data science, urban ecology, urban geography, geographic information science, or other related fields in urban studies.
• Publication record in computational urban science in planning is preferred.
• Excellent communication and coordination skills and team management skills.
• Meet the basic requirements for postdoctoral recruitment at NYU Shanghai.

Required Skills

• Proficiency in Python, ArcGIS, STATA, or similar functional software, with certain programming skills.
• Preferred but not required: Natural Language Processing (NLP), Topic Modeling, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), Social media data sentiment analysis, etc.
• Background in big data analysis, COVID-19 outbreak policy, and built environment machine learning analysis.