4 October 2024 |
Sea Level Rise Risks, Adaptation Strategies, and Real Estate Prices in Singapore
by Associate Professor Qin Yu (Dean's Chair Professor, School of Business, NUS)
Yu QIN is Dean's Chair and associate professor in the Department of Real Estate at the NUS Business School. Her research interests include urban economics (on topics related to transportation and real estate market) and environmental economics (on topics related to air pollution and climate change). Her research is published in leading journals, including Nature Climate Change, Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Water, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Development Economics, among others. Currently, she is the co-editor of the China Economic Review, associate editor of Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, and in the editorial board of Journal of Economic Geography. Yu completed her PhD in applied economics and management at Cornell University in 2014.
11 October 2024 |
The Living Bridge
by Mr. Jeremy Beckman (Founder and Director, Terra Matters Pte Ltd)
This seminar explores the history and significance of the living root bridges of Meghalaya, India, ancient structures formed through the careful guidance of tree roots over generations. We will discuss how modern insights into fig root growth now allow for faster establishment of similar structures, paving the way for innovative green architecture. With large banyan trees abundant in Singapore and Southeast Asia, we will explore the potential for using these roots to create sustainable structures, anything from living outdoor furniture to natural shelters that can mitigate the effects of rising urban temperatures.
Mr. Jeremy Beckman has been studying and practicing permaculture and regenerative farming methods in China, Taiwan, the UK, and Singapore since obtaining his Permaculture Design Course (PDC) with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in 2012. He earned his MSc in Organic Farming and Production Systems in 2017 from Newcastle University and remained in the UK for two more years to put theory into practice. Since returning to Singapore, he founded Terra Matters, a company focused on biological carbon sequestration in Singapore and the region.
18 October 2024 |
Understanding Urban Environmental Vulnerability through Multidimensional Urban Networks and Street View Images
by Dr. Liu Pengyuan (Senior Postdoc/Module Coordinator
Singapore-ETH Centre)
Urban areas are becoming increasingly vulnerable to environmental hazards like heatwaves and flooding, both of which are intensified by climate change. The Sea-City Interface (SEA) module of the Future Cities Lab Global at the Singapore-ETH Centre is dedicated to developing sustainable urban planning strategies that mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change using cutting-edge technologies. In this presentation, I will showcase two studies from the SEA project where we combined graph analytics with street view images to model urban networks, which can provide detailed, ground-level insights into urban environments, enabling us to investigate urban heat effects and assess their potential impacts on the socio-spatial resilience of urban populations as they confront the growing risk of these common hazards.
Dr Liu's expertise lies in the field of quantitative urban geography. He is deeply passionate about integrating geospatial analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital twins within urban studies. His work focuses on developing theories, algorithms, and models that advance this integration. Dr Liu's aim is to foster innovation in urban studies through cutting-edge research and collaboration, contributing to the development of smarter, more sustainable urban environments.
Dr Liu holds an MSc and a PhD from the University of Leicester (UK) (doctoral thesis: Learning Digital Geographies through Geographical Artificial Intelligence), after which he worked at the University of Helsinki (Finland) and also has industry experience as a senior data scientist.
25 October 2024 |
BOTH/AND
by Ms. Jessica Bridger (Visiting Senior Fellow, Department of Architecture, NUS)
Working in one defined professional capacity is limiting. Explaining what you do when you work in multiple modes across disciplines is hard. Yet contemporary society and the processes of urbanization demand unprecedented flexibility and broad understanding. Jessica Bridger has worked for 15 years between and across spheres of knowledge and tools for its production, as an urbanist, journalist and consultant. Her work spans Brussels-based industrial organizations that championed the European Single Market, multinational manufacturers who make micro public transport and multiple universities. At the same time, she is deeply critical and works as a professional journalist for Monocle Magazine. Some projects begin with timelines and vague ideas, some briefs are to help create new urban realms and sometimes she provides clarity on why the Swiss rejected a referendum on biodiversity. What does clear communication have to do with complexity and complication? Do we trust “people like us” or the media or politicians more? In this brown bag session Jessica will introduce some of her work followed by discussion about urban research, communication and the idea of BOTH/AND.
Jessica Bridger is an urbanist, consultant and journalist. Her consultancy is focused on strategy, project development and communications. She applies expertise in urbanism, sustainability and resilience, leveraging her broad international network. She holds a MLArch from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
She has worked with international governmental organizations, large corporations and universities. She has deep experience in knowledge management across sectors and organizations. Her clients include the United Nations, the European Roundtable for Industry (ERT), Schindler Group, Winkreative and the ETH Zurich. Her work blends research, strategy, expert knowledge and communications, and she often serves as a sparring partner for companies active in the urban realm. She is also a professional journalist, working in print and radio, and serves as a contributing editor for Monocle Magazine.
Jessica has lectured, taught and moderated for the United Nations (UN-Habitat), United Cities and Local Government, OnCities2030, Harvard University, Cambridge University, Future Cities Laboratory Singapore (ETH/NUS), National University of Singapore, among others. She is the author, with Christian Werthmann, of Metropolis Nonformal (2016), editor of The European Roundtable for Industry’s ERT 40 (2023), Textbook by Kees Christiaanse (2018), and co-editor of the Schindler Global Award: Essays/Projects (editions 2015, 2017 & 2019), Landscape Architecture Europe (2015) and Research in Architecture (2012).
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