Capsule Bio

Dr. Anthony Townsend is Research Director at the Institute for the Future, an independent research organization based in California's Silicon Valley. His writing, public speaking and consulting focus on urbanization, ubiquitous computing and technology-led innovation and economic development. He lives and works in the New York City area. Anthony was named one of Planetizen's "Leading Thinkers in Urban Planning & Technology" and "Top 100 Thinkers" tracking the Internet of things by Postscapes.


My h-index - a measure of scholarly impact that measures citations of my research by others - as of November 2011 is 15. You can see the data behind this calculation here, or find more information about the h-index here.





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I’ve been involved with NYU for over a decade in a variety of roles:

  • 1996-1998 as a student at the Wagner Graduate School of public service, studying urban planning and working at the Taub Urban Research Center
  • 2000-2002 as a research scientist at the Taub Urban Research Center
  • 2001-2004 as an adjunct professor of public adminstration at the Wagner Graduate School, teaching courses in GIS, data visualization and smart cities.
  • 2003-2004 as an adjunct professor of communications at the Tisch School of the Arts’ Interactive Telecommunications Program
  • 2004-2005 as a research professor affiliated with the Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Management
  • 2010-current as a visiting scholar at the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management

In 2012, I’ll return as an adjunct to teach a course in the urban planning program on smart cities.

Here’s the description, and the syllabus.

 

URPL-GP.4614

Intelligent Cities: Technology, Policy and Planning

Global urbanization is driving demand for an estimated $40 trillion in infrastructure over the next two decades, and information technology spreading off the desktop and out of offices and homes into everyday objects. As these two trends collide, a broad range of stakeholders – the information technology industry, real estate developers, technology startups, citizens and civic leaders – are all looking for new opportunities to address both existing and emerging urban problems using “intelligent” systems. This course will cut through the thick hype around intelligent cities by discussing – what are intelligent cities really? Where, why and by whom are they being built? What are the intended and unintended potential consequences? What is the role of urban policy and planning in shaping their evolution? Students are expected to have some basic knowledge of fundamentals of urban planning. This is not a technology or engineering course – technical concepts will be explored during the lectures as needed to explain their significance in urban affairs.