Researchers, developers, lecturers, students, and practitioners in all facets of Geo-Information Science and Technology are cordially invited to the conference, to present ongoing research, showcase products, network with colleagues from Europe and the rest of the world, and find out about the latest developments in the field.

This is the annual conference for the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe. This year’s conference theme “Geographic Information Science for a Sustainable Future” aims to explore the critical role of geographic information science in shaping a sustainable future. The conference will be hosted at the University of Glasgow from the 4th June - 7th June 2024.

Note: This booking is for free online attendance of the keynote talks. For more information about the conference and in-person attendance please visit Home (agile-gi.eu).

Keynote 1: Data-driven Movement Analysis for Understanding Human Behavior and Interaction in Changing Urban Environments

Dr. Somayeh Dodge

5th June, 9:30 - 10:30 BST

Abstract: Data-driven movement analysis plays a crucial role in understanding urban dynamics and human exposure and access to built and social environments. The increasing environmental variability arising from climate change-induced events, including natural disasters, can cause substantial shifts in human movement activity and their daily interactions. Investigating these patterns can inform sustainability planning efforts to enhance human well-being, increase communities' resilience, and reduce inequalities in accessing urban resources. Using movement as a marker of behavior, this presentation explore various applications of movement analysis in investigating individuals' behavioral responses to environmental changes and their social interactions.

Bio: Somayeh Dodge is an Associate Professor of Spatial Data Science in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She serves on the Board of Directors of the University Consortium for Geographic Information (UCGIS). She is currently a Senior Fellow of the ETH/UZH Collegium Helveticum program and a Fellow of the University of Zurich Digital Society Initiative (DSI). She received her PhD in Geography with a specialization in Geographic Information Science (GIScience) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland in 2011. She is a recipient of the 2021 CAREER award from the U.S. Science National Foundation (NSF), and the 2022 Emerging Scholar Award of the Spatial Analysis and Modeling Specialty Group of the American Associations of Geographers (AAG). Somayeh's research focuses on developing data analytics, knowledge discovery, modeling, and visualization techniques to study movement behavior in dynamic human and ecological systems.

Keynote 2: Spatial Data Science for Sustainable and Inclusive Cities

Dr. Rafael H. M. Pereira

6th June, 9:00 - 10:00 BST

Abstract: In this presentation, I will give an overview of my research at the intersection of spatial data science, urban analytics and accessibility, and sustainable mobility. Specifically, I will showcase work related to the development of open data science tools and methods for transportation network modeling used to examine spatial accessibility, energy use and the environmental performance of urban mobility systems. These tools contribute to research and planning by aiding researchers, students, and practitioners in effectively handling large-scale geospatial data for the examination of urban transportation networks and mobility futures. I will give particular attention to two projects related to: (1) a new scalable computational model to estimate public transport emissions at high spatial and temporal resolutions; and (2) recent developments of powerful multimodal routing models and their contribution to the analysis of socioeconomic and spatial inequalities in access to opportunities. At the end, I will discuss some of the advantages and limitations of these tools and models, reflecting on new research avenues for using spatial data science for sustainable and inclusive cities.

Bio: Rafael H. M. Pereira is a senior researcher in the fields of urban analytics, spatial data science and transport studies at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), Brazil, where he leads the Data Science team. His research looks broadly at how urban policies and technologies shape the spatial organization of cities, human mobility as well as their impacts on social and health inequalities. Some of his key contributions to the fields of urban analytics and planning involve the development of new methods and open-source computational tools to the study of urban systems and transportation networks. These contributions emerge from substantive interests around social justice and sustainability issues in urban development, with particular focus on transportation equity and inequalities in access to opportunities, and the environmental impacts of built environments and mobility patterns. With a background in Sociology and Demography, Dr. Pereira obtained his PhD in Geography from the Transport Studies Unit at Oxford University.

Keynote 3: Urban Data Science for Sustainable Mobility Transitions

Dr. Alessia Calafiore

7th June, 8:30 - 9:30 BST

Abstract: Geographic data are fundamental to capture urban and regional dynamics, providing key evidence to better understand the relationship between the built environment and human behaviours. At a time of a climate emergency, it becomes of paramount importance that these insights are effectively leveraged to identify pathways towards more sustainable cities. In this talk, by presenting research around mobility, accessibility and pollution, I will give an overview of the potential and limits of traditional and new forms of data to inform just and equitable sustainable mobility transitions. I will also reflect on the challenges of transforming data intro actionable results beyond academia.

Bio: I am Lecturer in Sustainability and Urban Data Science at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture of the University of Edinburgh. I am co-lead of the CHASS Research Theme - Future Cities and co-organiser of EdinbR. My research sits at the intersection of Urban Planning, Geography and Computer Science and I am interested in developing new spatially informed computational methods to better understand the mutual relationship between human behaviours and their urban contexts. This work blends traditional and new forms of data to provide quantifiable evidence of urban dynamics and inform policy making. My current substantive focus concerns how we can equitability manage Net Zero transitions within cities. Previously, I was a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the Geographic Data Science Lab of the University of Liverpool and I hold a PhD in Computer Science awarded jointly by the University of Torino and University of Luxembourg.

AGILE Conference 2024 - Keynote Online Attendence