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Digital Excursion: Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

By Christina Kamposiori, on 31 May 2013

Last Thursday saw our digital excursion to the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA). It was a great event where the researchers from CASA introduced us to the very interesting and diverse work conducted at the centre.

CASA’s research focuses on smart cities and the production of new knowledge that can be used in city planning, policy and design by using innovative methods & technologies. Their work draws especially on the latest geospatial methods and ideas in computer-based visualisation and modelling.

During our visit, guests were split into two groups and had the opportunity to learn more information about the projects undertaken by CASA as well as to enjoy a guided tour of the interactive exhibits available at the centre. The mini presentations prepared by the researchers regarding the projects they currently work on soon unveiled the interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary focus of the research conducted at CASA and the expertise the centre contained.

CASA’s diverse research ranged from projects modelling the migration flows between cities in Europe to projects utilizing data from archaeological sites to model retail systems in middle Bronze and Iron Age. One of their latest projects was part of the Something Else for The Weekend which recently took place at UCL. The aim of the project was to map, with the use of new technologies, one of the literary routes described in the graphic novel “From Hell”, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s fictionalisation of Jack the Ripper.

Regarding the exhibits, the absolute highlight was the Pigeon Sim which allows you to fly over London’s landmarks and at the same time cross various data feeds, such as real-time tweets or travel information, as they go. The other exhibits were also based on representations of real London-related data in a combination of physical and digital formats. The London Data Table, for example, showed real time data regarding e.g. bicycle hire usage or live traffic updates projected onto a London shaped table.

Below are some photos from the event:

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