Speaker: Rossano Schifanella, University of Turin

Title: Mapping the Sensorial Layers of a City

Date: 01/29/2016

Time: 4pm

Room: Informatics East 130

Abstract: Researchers have used large quantities of online data to study dynamics in novel ways. Consider the specific case of online networked individuals (e.g., users of Twitter, Instagram, Flickr). Can their social dynamics be used to build better tools for future cities? To answer this question, our research has focused on understanding how people psychologically experience cities. As a result, we have created new mapping tools that leverage senses and emotions, thus complementing the corporate idea of an efficient and predictable smart city, with the ultimate goal of reaching urban happiness. The work presented in this talk mixes data mining, urban informatics, and computational social science to show how a creative use of social media and network-generated data can capture the aesthetic, olfactory and sonic layers of our cities at scale.

Biography: Rossano Schifanella is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Turin, where he is a member of the Applied Research on Computational Complex Systems group. He is a former visitor and collaborator of the Network & agents Network (NaN) group at the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research (CNetS), and he is also a Visiting Scientist at Yahoo Labs where he studies the behavior of (groups of) individuals and their interactions on social media platforms, and the interplay between online and offline social behavior. He is also interested in computational methods to investigate social phenomena, aesthetics and creativity in media platforms, and human-centered ways to explore urban scenarios.