Brown Bag (Sept’24)

Brown Bag Fridays - September Series

Venue: NUS Cities Office

Time: 12PM onwards

6 September 2024 |
From Data to Action: Enhancing Campus Sustainability with CoolNUS - BEAM initiative

by Dr. Marcel Ignatius (Senior Research Fellow, Department of the Built Environment, NUS)

In recent years, studies have shown increased urban temperatures and reduced thermal comfort due to climate change and the rise in human activities on the NUS campus. The CoolNUS - BEAM initiative, a collaboration between the College of Design and Engineering’s Department of Built Environment researchers and University Campus Infrastructure (UCI), conducts a comprehensive microclimate assessment using extensive sensors through the Baselining-Evaluating-Action-Monitoring (BEAM) framework. This framework identifies outdoor thermal comfort issues and recommends mitigation strategies such as adding greenery and using heat-reflective paint on facades and pavements. Additionally, the initiative is developing a detailed greenery database across the campus, including 3D models, sizes, and georeferenced locations, to support the 100,000 tree planting campaign and other greenery-related research. The project also aims to establish a campus-wide urban ventilation guideline and enriches its scope by promoting horizontal collaborations among internal and external researchers. Moreover, AI/ML implementation is being integrated into the microclimate assessment framework to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of solutions, addressing Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and improving outdoor thermal comfort.

The project website: www.coolnus-beam.sg

Dr Ignatius has a PhD in Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology from NUS and is a researcher with specific interest in urban micro-climate, sustainability, climate change, and green design.

13 September 2024 |
Creating More Accessible Cities, a Data Driven Approach

by Mr. Ryan Wong (Managing Director, APAC Region, PTV Group)

Cities across our region are experiencing unprecedented growth. By 2030, Southeast Asia will be home to six mega-cities. This rapid urbanization brings significant challenges, from crippling congestion to the impacts of climate change. However, data can illuminate travel patterns, offering insights into building more resilient transport systems. Ryan Wong, Managing Director of PTV APAC, will share global use cases that demonstrate how decision-makers are leveraging data to make informed and impactful decisions.

20 September 2024 |
Sharing in cities - a golden opportunity

by Prof. Brian Collins (Emeritus Professor, University of College London and Visiting Professor, NUS Cities)

We all probably know what sharing is, but the nuts and bolts of sharing, including the size, scale and things that we share, are rarely discussed out loud or recognised as an act of sharing. One definition we found, and one that is very popular, comes from Russel Belk (2007), who defined sharing as the act and process of distributing what is ours to others for their use and/or the act of receiving or taking from others for our use. This definition is a good start; it suggests that sharing is a social act between one person who owns something and other people who don’t own something.

With our interest in cities and making them better places to live, work and play, we are keen to understand more about the sharing that takes place in them. But why is this important? For one thing, we believe that if more people shared what they had (mostly the good stuff), then we might use and consume less stuff. This could lead to us using less carbon and fewer non-renewable resources, which could help in the fight against climate change in cities. Sharing also has been known to increase people’s wellbeing, so if people are happier and get to know others in their cities in the process of sharing, why not do it more? A third reason for wanting to know more about sharing in cities is that if those in power, like local governments (and increasingly businesses), see that sharing is helping the planet, helping our wallets and helping citizens cope with the pressures and stresses of living where they do, then perhaps they’ll invest more money to make sharing ‘a thing’.

The sharing will focus on the book --> https://blog.soton.ac.uk/serg/files/2017/12/littlebookofsharinginthecity.pdf

Professor Brian Collins is Emeritus Professor of Engineering Policy at UCL. He led the creation of UKCRIC and cofounded a new Department at UCL, Science, Technology and Engineering and Public Policy between 2011 and 2020. He served as specialist adviser to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry into scientific infrastructure in 2013 and 2014. Before joining UCL, he served as Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA) to two British Government departments DfT and BIS with responsibility for overseeing science, engineering, and technological policy and evidence activities. He was Professor of Information systems at Cranfield University, Global CIO at the law firm Clifford Chance, and IT Director at the Wellcome Trust. He held the position of Chief Scientist and Director of Technology at GCHQ between 1987 and 1991 and Deputy Director of the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (now part of DSTL) in 1986.

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