Syllabus

1. Cities, a very very brief introduction

   Why do cities exist? One cannot study, analyse and model cities and systems of cities unless they know their fundamental attributes, and the reasons why cities have been developed at the first instance.

2. Smart cities, urban big data, digital twins and other buzz terms

   • Practical: APIs and urban data

   How do digital technologies change cities? How does their usage actually enables citizens to act as sensors? And, how do these changes affect urban research? We will first approach these issues from a theoretical perspective and then utilise such free and open urban data using APIs.

3. Networks: an introduction

   Networks are everywhere! After this lecture you will hopefully start seeing them.

4. Network analysis practical: networks of cities

5. Street network analysis practical: networks within cities

   These two practical sessions will put into practise your newly acquired network understanding of cities.

6. Reading week

7. Network science, urban laws and scaling

   • Practical: Build and compare models

   Moving from network analysis to network science with clear urban applications.

8. Methods in transport geography

   Same methods, different facets of urban research. This part of the unit will allow you to apply your network skills to answer transport related questions. It will also make the transition from networks to flows.

9. Spatial interaction modelling

   You ve’learned how to analyse networks, now you can learn how to analyse and model flows. Do you see the parallel?

10. Accessibility

11. Diversity in cities

    Why is diversity important in cities and how do we measure it?