In a session chaired by Nancy Holman, Irina Paraschivoiu and Ganga Shreedhar will be discussing the importance of data behavioural science in urban and regional planning. 

Cities and regions across the world are experiencing pressures on the housing, governance and sustainability fronts. Challenges such as creating sustainable transport links, enhancing local democracy or tackling housing shortage push urbanists to think creatively. Founded in 1966, LSE's MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies (RUPS) programme has established its reputation as a key player in urban innovation with alumni working in public policy, architecture, think tanks and government across the world. Our new series Progressing Planning is designed to showcase LSE's impact on urban issues by bringing together academics and RUPS alumni. In so doing, we aim to show how research at LSE links to practice across the world.

This interactive session will bring together professionals, academics and the public around presentations and a general discussion.

Irina Paraschivoiu is a Research Fellow at the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Salzburg from 2018. She holds an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Bucharest. Her research focuses on the crossroads between persuasive technology, human behaviour and cities. 

Ganga Shreedhar is an Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science in LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science and an Affiliate of the Department of Geography and Environment. After a PhD in Environmental Economics and a Master’s in Public Administration at the LSE, she is now an applied behavioural and experimental economist studying how to change human behaviour in ways that simultaneously benefit people and the planet. 

Nancy Holman is Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Director of RUPS. Her work deals primarily with issues of governance and local planning including sustainable development and community participation. She has often used social network analysis to explore the complex relationships in the multi-level, multi-actor partnerships present in modern governing arrangements.

RUPS (Regional and Urban Planning Studies) is a strongly focused and internationally based planning programme with a long tradition in training both people seeking careers in urban and regional planning policy and mid-career professionals.

LSE London is a research centre at LSE that focuses on the economic and social issues of the London region, as well as the problems and possibilities of other urban and metropolitan regions. The centre has a strong international reputation particularly in the fields of labour markets, social and demographic change, housing, finance, and governance, and it is the leading academic centre for analyses of city-wide developments in London.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEProgressingPlanning