Solutionism in Urban Data Science

Shannon Mattern surveys the new wave of urban data science projects and argues that practitioners are trending toward an obsession with data-for-data’s-sake and an idolization of method.

1 minute read

November 14, 2013, 6:00 AM PST

By Places Journal

What do corporate smart-city programs have in common with D.I.Y. science projects and civic hackathons?

“Theirs is a city with an underlying logic,” writes Shannon Mattern, “made more efficient — or just, or sustainable, or livable — with a tweak to its algorithms or an expansion of its dataset.”

On Places, Mattern argues that the new wave of urban data science (and solutionism) is trending toward an obsession with data-for-data’s-sake and an idolization of landscape research methods.

FULL STORY: Methodolatry and the Art of Measure

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 in Places Journal

Government / Politics Technology Urban Development World Smart Cities Places Journal Civic Hackathon Code for America big data View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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