Transforming New Urban Culture
On April 30, 2018, GPA hosted a lecture by Mayor Ridwan Kamil from Bandung, Indonesia. Bandung is Indonesia’s third largest city. As an architect turned mayor, Kamil increased efforts to build a smart city technology to improve government service. Fortune recently included him in its list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, citing his efforts to use software applications to improve efficiency and sidestep bureaucracy.
Click or swipe below to view a Flickr album of the talk.
Gross Fellowship Recipients Meet Their Benefactors at Luncheon
Click or swipe below to view a Flickr album of photos of the 2018 fellowship recipients with Cal and Marilyn Gross and UCLA Luskin Director of Development Ricardo Quintero:
Big Data and the Commuter
UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies and Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin co-hosted a lecture on April 18, 2018, by Antoine Cormount, Cities and Digital Technology chair at the Sciences Po university in Paris. Courmont’s discussion, “Big Data and Re-composition of Urban Governance in the Digital Era: The Case of the Waze App,” focused primarily on the potential for conflict between public and private goals when firms and governments use different data sets. The popular driving app Waze, Courmont explained, relies heavily on real-time crowdsourced data that is applied to help its users shorten commute times. Conversely, government-backed infrastructure like traffic cameras and roadway sensors are often employed to help reduce congestion — rather than short-term drive times. Because Waze will often route drivers through residential streets — clogging roads not designed for commuter traffic, the spillover effect from Waze’s data gathering causes regional traffic problems, governments say. Waze contends that poor urban planning has led to a need for its commute-shortening algorithms. Governments can implement a number of policies that could reduce Waze’ effectiveness, Courmont said. He also noted that Waze and governments have the potential to collaborate, share data and disseminate information on road closures and traffic hazards. — Zev Hurwitz
Click or swipe below to view a Flickr album of photos from the presentation:
Alumni Share Advice with Urban Planning, Public Health Students
The event was organized by students. Pictured, from left to right, are Rae Spriggs (MURP & MPH), Teddy Tollin (undergraduate geography major), Rebecca Ferdman (MURP & MPH), Tsai, Jasneet Bains (MURP & MPH), Diaz, Cristina Valadez (MPH), Simunovic, and Ali Goodyear (MPH). Click or swipe below to view a Flickr album of additional photos:
Documentary Screening Hosted by Social Welfare Alumna
In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the spotlight on societally ingrained sexual violence and abuses, “Liberated: The New Sexual Revolution,” a film highlighting these ills during a college spring break in Florida, was screened at UCLA on April 3, 2018 to a crowd of about 40 students. The film aimed to explain the experience of a young person growing up in today’s hookup culture while diving deeper into the mindset and attitudes of these youth regarding sex and the normalization of sexual violation. Sarah Godoy MSW ‘15, lecturer in social welfare at UCLA Luskin, hosted this event in conjunction with UCLA Luskin Social Welfare, Center for the Study of Women, CARE Program, LGBT Resource Center and Athletes in Action. Following the screening of the film, a panel discussion involving the film’s director, two stars of the film and two local experts, who then opened up the conversation to questions from the audience. — Aaron Julian
View a Flickr gallery from the event:
