Future of Asian Cities – Citizen Urban Science: Policy & Practice

PI: Dr Harvey Neo (LKYCIC, SUTD)
Co PI: Dr Jose Rafael Martinez Garcia (LKYCIC, SUTD)
Team: Dr Jeffrey Chan (HASS, SUTD) and Mr Li Bayi

Defined broadly, citizen urban science research encompasses three strands: (a) Enhancing urban science literacy amongst citizens; (b) Building the capacity of citizens so that they are more directly engaged in urban development processes; (c) Investigating the reasons underpinning citizens’ resistance towards specific urban policies. The research will put citizen-centric urban science to practice, in tandem with big data and smart technologies, so as to influence urban policies positively. The project will examine issues of housing, flood prevention, mobility, as well as demography.

This is a two-phase study of selected ASEAN cities (Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Manila, and Ho Chi Minh City). In the first phase, the main urban challenges faced by the cities and the efforts to overcome these challenges will be mapped. This is done through a resident survey in the four cities in order to supplement the lack of urban satisfaction data. In the second phase, specific challenges in each of the city will be studied more in depth, framed in a “citizen urban science” approach.