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Digital Cities (DC) emphasizes the development of fundamental skills in urban planning and policy including ethics, justice, and engagement; statistics, data science, and geospatial analysis and visualization; and computational thinking, simulation, and user experience.
This thread prepares you to build technology that serves the public good and to design and implement public interest technology or civic technology specialized for the urban environment. You will prepare to plan and build the cities of the future by immersing in the emerging intersections of computer science and urban planning.
Requirements
In order to receive the NEET Digital Cities certificate from the School of Engineering, you need to complete the following requirements. You do not need to follow a strict sequence and will receive a certificate as long as you complete all subjects.
Two Foundation Subjects
11.001 Intro to Urban Design and Development, (12 units, HASS-H) 6.100A+6.100B Intro to Programming (12 units, REST)
Three Project-based Subjects
11.007 Urban and Environmental Technology Implementation Lab (12 units) D. Hsu11.154 Big Data, Visualization, and Society (12 units, HASS-S) S. Williams● Equivalent: 6/11.C35 Interactive Visualization and Society11.138 Crowdsourced City: Civic Tech Prototyping (12 units, HASS-S) C. D'Ignazio
Suggested Electives (not required)
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Lab (12 units)6.1010 Fundamentals of Programming (12 units)11.S196 Applied Data Science for Cities (6 units)11.523 Spatial Database (6 units)11.524 Spatial Statistics Workshop (6 units)
DC and Course 11-6
Course 11-6 majors may be able to count their NEET DC subjects toward their major requirements. 11-6 majors should meet with their major advisor to plan how NEET DC can work with their major.
DC and All Other Majors
Three of the required DC subjects will count toward your HASS GIR (11.001, 11.154, 11.138). 6.100A/6.100B, another DC requirement, counts as a REST, and also is required or a pre-req for many majors. Therefore, for many students, pursuing a certificate in DC will require only one extra class (11.007) and three 3-unit seminars beyond your major and GIR.
Your are welcome to contact Cong Cong at ude.tim%402gnocc if you would like help working on a personalized roadmap for NEET DC.
DC Course Petition Process
If you have a project-based UROP, we may accept as a substitute for a NEET course. You will need to submit your UROP proposal to NEET for approval. If you cannot take a subject due to course conflicts and won’t be able to swap with other subjects, you can make up the NEET requirement next year.
Roadmap
Urban Environmental Sensing
Create technology that has an impact on the MIT Community. This can be deploying environmental sensors in campus, or creating an app that makes your dormitory more connected.
Big Data, Visualization, and Society
Build advanced computational public interest technology as part of a complex real-world project that engages the public at large and involve multiple stakeholders, institutions, and communication mediums.
Social Media, Technology and Planning Processes
How do we develop (automated, crowdsourced, or manual) ways of auditing commemorative place names for gender and race equity in specific cities?
These are a series of project-based classes that DC scholars can take throughout the three-year program. Classes are accompanied by seminars and talks hosting guest speakers from industry, academia and government addressing a variety of issues under the thread theme.
11.007 Urban and Environmental Technology Implementation Lab
D. Hsu
Real-world clients and environmental problems form the basis of a project in which teams of students develop strategies for analysis and implementation of new sensor technology within cities. Working closely with a partner or client based on the MIT campus or in Cambridge, students assess the environmental problem, implement prototypes, and recommend promising solutions to the client for implementation. Equipment and working space provided.
11.154 Big Data, Visualization, and Society;
6/11.C35 Interactive Visualization & Society
S. Williams
Studies data visualization as a way for architects, planners and policy experts to communicate with the public. Develops technical skills to work with big data to answer or expose urban issues, which include cleaning and aggregating data in python, D3, and other web-based visualization software, and accessing APIs to download data. Students work with a big data set in a particular urban area and use the data to answer a policy question. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.
11.138 Crowdsourced City: Civic Tech Prototyping
C. D'Ignazio
Investigates the use of social media and digital technologies for planning and advocacy by working with actual planning and advocacy organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate prototype digital tools. Students use the development of their digital tools as a way to investigate new media technologies that can be used for planning.
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Lab
E. Huntley & C. Cong
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial data. Explores how GIS can make maps, guide decisions, answer questions, and advocate for change. Class builds toward a project in which students critically apply GIS techniques to an area of interest. Students build data discovery, cartography, and spatial analysis skills while learning to reflect on their positionality within the research design process. Because maps and data are never neutral, the class incorporates discussions of power, ethics, and data throughout as part of a reflective practice. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Lab
E. Huntley & C. Cong
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial data. Explores how GIS can make maps, guide decisions, answer questions, and advocate for change. Class builds toward a project in which students critically apply GIS techniques to an area of interest. Students build data discovery, cartography, and spatial analysis skills while learning to reflect on their positionality within the research design process. Because maps and data are never neutral, the class incorporates discussions of power, ethics, and data throughout as part of a reflective practice. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Laboratory
E. Huntley & C. Cong
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial data. Explores how GIS can make maps, guide decisions, answer questions, and advocate for change. Class builds toward a project in which students critically apply GIS techniques to an area of interest. Because maps and data are never neutral, the class incorporates discussions of power, ethics, and data throughout as part of a reflective practice. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.
11.S196 Applied Data Science for Cities
C. Cong
In an era of plentiful and intensifying data compilation, The narratives we construct about our environment can be bolstered with data sets, data visualization, and analysis. This course develops core data competencies in the context of student selected case studies to enable students to explore and visualize urban issues.
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Lab
E. Huntley & C. Cong
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial data. Explores how GIS can make maps, guide decisions, answer questions, and advocate for change. Class builds toward a project in which students critically apply GIS techniques to an area of interest. Students build data discovery, cartography, and spatial analysis skills while learning to reflect on their positionality within the research design process. Because maps and data are never neutral, the class incorporates discussions of power, ethics, and data throughout as part of a reflective practice. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.
11.188 Introduction to Spatial Analysis and GIS Lab
E. Huntley & C. Cong
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool for visualizing and analyzing spatial data. Explores how GIS can make maps, guide decisions, answer questions, and advocate for change. Class builds toward a project in which students critically apply GIS techniques to an area of interest. Students build data discovery, cartography, and spatial analysis skills while learning to reflect on their positionality within the research design process. Because maps and data are never neutral, the class incorporates discussions of power, ethics, and data throughout as part of a reflective practice. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.
Thread Leadership
Prof. David Hsu
Founding Faculty LeadAssociate Director, NEET
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Cong Cong
Lecturer of Urban Science and Planning
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Scholars Leadership Team
Esther Kinyanjui
DC Student Representative
Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceClass of 2025
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