Crowdsourcing, community-efforts, and urban climate studies
Date and time: 5 May 2022, 12:00 – 13:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Speaker: Dr Oscar Brousse, University College London
Title: Crowdsourcing, community-efforts, and urban climate studies
Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/69560887455
Meeting ID: 695 6088 7455
Password: 755440
Watch the recorded presentation:
Abstract: Over the past decades, major discoveries have been made in the field of urban climatology thanks to urban climate models and field surveys. But one recurrent impediment to the application of the science in various cities has been and remains data accessibility, continuum, and density. Recently, a new focus has been put on crowdsourcing data provided by global experts or by citizens of the studied cities. This new paradigm permitted the rapid acquisition of useful data for urban climate modelling as well as for urban climate observational studies. Among others, important examples of these recent developments are the community-based Local Climate Zones mapping led by the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tool (WUDAPT) and the crowdsourcing of weather data via Netatmo personal weather stations. In this talk, the potential of these two illustrative advancements is presented and future pathways for coping with their limitations are also highlighted.
Bio: Oscar Brousse is a research fellow at the Bartlett’s Institute for Environmental Engineering and Design affiliated with the University College London. His current work, financed by the Health and Economic impacts of Reducing Overheating in Cities (HEROIC) project, investigates how cities are responsible for heat-related mortality and morbidities in different parts of the world (e.g., London, Sao Paulo, Kampala or Kisumu). During his PhD at KU Leuven, Oscar looked at how cities impact the local climate in sub-Saharan Africa and thereby vector-borne infectious diseases like malaria. Challenged by the data scarcity in the region, Oscar has rapidly been involved in the development of innovative methods to bridge these data and knowledge gaps. Hence, since his master’s degree, Oscar has been an important contributor to the WUDAPT project by testing its assets for providing reliable information on urban environments for urban climate modelling. His research was done using a variety of regional and urban climate models over various cities like Madrid, Vienna, Kampala, Singapore and Dar es Salaam. Besides, his keen interest to cope with climate and land-use land-cover data scarcity in cities has driven his research towards crowdsourcing and machine learning which now complements his urban climate modelling skills.
Link to the profile of Oscar Brousse
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OscarBrousse