Urban
Informatics Lab
Developing data-driven approaches forurban problem-solving.
About
The IIHS Urban Informatics Lab anchors the application of information and data science to research, practice, and training at IIHS. It analyses urbanisation trends and applies diverse data-driven methods to understand a wide range of urban themes.
The Lab focuses on innovations in data creation, collection, and organisation, while developing new approaches for urban problem-solving in data-scarce contexts. Its work spans employment, economic development, social protection, food systems, land markets, housing, environmental sustainability, health, and inequality.
The Lab aims to build a space for researchers and practitioners working on Indian cities to create, analyse and disseminate data related to urbanisation, as well as to develop novel methods for data-scarce environments.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt.
Practice
The Lab develops new methods to study and understand urban patterns, innovating in data creation, collection, and organisation, as well as in applying diverse methods to urban problem-solving.
Themes
- Urbanisation, urban and regional economic development and planning, housing, and infrastructure.
- The relationship between economic growth and urbanisation through analyses of employment, industrial transitions, informal work, economic geography, and land-based financing.
Methods
- Large-scale sample surveys measuring social and economic characteristics across cities.
- Quantitative modelling and analyses of urbanisation, integrating conventional secondary data sources and alternative data, like high-resolution remote sensing data at regional, city and neighbourhood levels.
- Development of data sets and tools for analysis, mapping, and visualisation.
Projects
The Lab’s research spans urban growth modelling, ecosystem monitoring, climate resilience,
Reimagining Education for Equity: Interrogating Policy and Practice
Net-Zero Building Fundamentals
Solar Decathlon India Self-Learning Modules
Legacy Waste Management in Indian Cities
Workshops on sustainable development
India: Population projection for 2050 by gender and age
Technical support for efficient operations of micro-composting centres and integration of informal workers in Tiruchirappalli
Volume estimation, and physical and chemical analysis of historic waste for bioremediation in 6 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Karnataka
Synthesis Report (SYR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)
Climate finance in India 2023
Research
The Lab analyses India’s urbanisation trends using primary and secondary data across multiple thematic areas.
Themes
- Urbanisation, inequality, employment, health, economic geography, industrial transitions, and informal work in Indian cities.
Methods
- Advanced statistical and machine learning methods to generate evidence in data-scarce environments.
- Spatial analysis of inequalities in access to housing, infrastructure, services, economic opportunity, and public health.
- Development of data sets and tools for analysis, mapping, and visualisation.
Projects
Shaping Urban Futures: Working Across Theory and Practice
Support to the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan
India: Population projection for 2050 by gender and age
Child nutrition patterns from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
Review of climate journalism in India
Scoping study of human migration and displacement within India
Intersections of just energy transition and climate-induced migration in India
Sanitation assessment of slums in Chennai
Contribution to World Social Science Report 2013: Changing Global Environments