Urban Data Kosovo project aims to build local capacity for planning agencies, municipal authorities, and planning and architecture schools in urban spatial analytics.
The scarce availability of spatial data in Kosovo hinders the country’s ability to plan and prepare for major urban challenges that will affect its cities and the country at- large. This project aims to train the next generation of architects and urban planners in contemporary spatial analytical tools, methods, and visualization, while also working with local stakeholders to identify urgent data needs. In dialogue with MIT’s Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, the Kosovo Architecture Foundation will use funding from a KUSA grant to begin conversations with and initial training for local officials, faculty, and students who can benefit from a rich understanding of these digital platforms.
This project aims to raise the academic capacity of local institutions of higher education, establish the new curriculum, build the capacity of the KSA, MESP and other relevant institutions as well as establish a long-term collaboration between MIT LCAU and KAF that will be working on producing the future cadre in this field. To tackle the missing data issue, this project will start from within the curriculum of architecture and planning schools, capitalizing on the enthusiasm of future generations of urban planners in Kosovo.
During the implementation of UDK the Kosovo team will be organizing several workshops with the aim of introducing new tools and methodologies in urban data analytics to local academic staff. While the extended project team which includes representatives of local architecture & planning schools, and a representative of the Kosovo Statistical Agency will be conducting a study visit to MIT LCAU during April 2022 where the LCAU team will host a workshop and a set of lectures.
This project is a collaborative effort between Kosovo Architecture Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU). The LCAU is a research center within the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) committed to fostering a rigorous design culture for the large scale by focusing disciplinary conversations about architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, and systems thinking. The LCAU is motivated by the radical changes in our environment, and the role that design and research can play in addressing these.
This project is led by Sarah Williams, Norman B. & Muriel Leventhal Associate Professor of Advanced Urbanism Director and Director of Civic Data Design Lab and Bekim Ramku the Director of Kosovo Architecture Foundation and the Office for Urban Regeneration.
