Lecture | 17:30 – 18:30 | Lecture Theatre
Drinks Reception | 18:30 | Gottmann Room

One of the most significant transformations happening in cities across the world is the use of ‘big data’. Big digital data is generated by all sorts of sensors in urban environments, from air pollution and water level monitors, to smartphone apps and surveillance cameras. Big data can take many forms; both city governments and private platforms like Google and Uber are creating and using it, as are many citizen and community initiatives. So far, geographers have paid a lot of attention to the infrastructure and economics of this change, but this lecture will address it from a different angle. It will explore the visions and imaginaries of urban futures that are entangled in these technological innovations, and will suggest that these future cities are not only going to look very different, they will feel different too.