The Urban Planet Lab
Tandon School of Engineering · New York University
Cities extend their influence far beyond their physical boundaries, affecting ecosystems, climate, and societies worldwide.
At the Urban Planet Lab, we study how growing cities and a changing climate interact as two complex systems, giving rise to emergent challenges such as extreme urban heat. The path to building climate-resilient cities lies in understanding the intricate interdependencies and feedbacks between the two systems. To this end, we combine multi-disciplinary tools and approaches such as complexity science, urban climate modeling, and remote sensing to confront the defining challenges of an urbanizing world and help build cities that are livable for all. The lab is based at NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the Tandon School of Engineering.
Complex Systems Thinking
Cities and extreme weather are two complex dynamical systems that interact across scales, and urban heat is one of the many emergent outcomes. We bring systems thinking and tools such as fractals, scaling laws, and complex networks to understand how cities, their people and socio-economic systems, and the physical microclimate self-organize and impact each other.
Multi-scale Urban Sensing
Resilient cities need observation systems that resolve heat where people live, not only city-wide averages. We combine ground sensors, airborne instruments, and satellite-based remote sensing to characterize the urban form and fabric as well as heat across multiple spatio-temporal scales. This helps us spot persistent hotspots, follow how heat evolves during extreme weather, and turn those observations into guidance for adaptation.
Climate-conscious Urban Design
We study how urban form, materials, and green infrastructure shape the thermal landscape, and how present-day and historical socio-economic inequalities drive the intra-urban heat disparities. Our work aims to identify design interventions such as cooling strategies, design choices, and targeted investments and evaluate their effectiveness in making cities more climate-resilient and equitable for all.
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