AI + URBAN AS TEXT

You are cordially invited to attend the online talk by Xuanyi “Maxwell” Nie organized by CDCD Lab as part of the course AR5959D Made in Singapore II: Assemblages.

Date: 4 Mar 2026
Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Venue: SDE 3, Level 4, Barrel Room / Zoom

AI + URBAN AS TEXT

Xuanyi “Maxwell” Nie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo and a faculty affiliate of the Asia Research Institute. His research examines how social infrastructures reshape spatial orders and everyday life in cities across China, the United States, and Southeast Asia. He focuses on two domains: the role of healthcare infrastructures, such as large hospitals and retirement communities, as territorial actors that transform urban neighbourhoods and spatial hierarchies, and the potential of civic infrastructures, including neighbourhood institutions, green spaces, and public meetings, to be democratised in ways that foster inclusion and equity. He serves as International Corresponding Editor for Urban Studies and develops community partnerships, including collaborations with New York Photonics in Rochester and kampungs in Jakarta, Indonesia. Before joining UB, Xuanyi was a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and taught at the National University of Singapore and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He also practised architecture and urban design and worked with UN-Habitat on planning consultancy in developing countries. Drawing on his interdisciplinary background, he integrates planning, design, and social science to advance equitable and just urban futures.