We’re on Linkedin!

You can now follow us on Linkedin in addition to Facebook and X. You can find us there as Urban and Regional Laboratory (URRlab). We’re still rather getting our head around there, but we’ll soon start posting regular updates on important happenings in the team. As well as here.

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During autumn, members of our research team published several peer-reviewed articles. All of them we recommend to read. Some of them are in open-access form, so they should be available to everyone.

Public, private and the pandemic: Everyday life in large housing estates during the COVID-19 lockdowns

• Authors: Slavomíra Ferenčuhová, Marie Sýkora Horňáková, Jana Kočková, Petra Špačková
• More

Movement matters: uncovering life-course similarities and differences in residential environment perspectives

• Authors: Marie Sýkora Horňáková, Jan Sýkora, Pavel Frydrych
• More

The project titled “Understanding intersections of neighbourhood change, marginalisation and racism: a comparative and collaborative research initiative“, funded by Charles University’s Strategic Partnership fund, successfully implemented key activities and workshops, fostering collaboration between Charles University and the University of Zurich. Despite challenges, such as a last-minute cancellation due to COVID-19, the workshops in Prague and Zurich proceeded with minor adjustments. The workshop was rescheduled in Prague and involved Urban Social Geography students, enriching their understanding of socio-spatial inequalities and neighbourhood change. In Zurich, Adel Petrovic and Prof. Martin Ouředníček (URRlab) joined Prof. Hilbrandt and her team (SURB) to explore social exclusion and racism in urban contexts, complemented by small-group discussions, research project presentations (URRlab presented OP JAK project, while SURB Responsible City project) and neighbourhood bike tours. The collaboration extended to the Swiss Geoscience Meeting in Basel, enhancing project outcomes and paving the way for sustained partnerships. The insights gained are already being applied in teaching and research at both institutions. Looking ahead, this partnership continues under the OP JAK project, supporting research on mobility and urban transformation over the next four years. Prof. Hilbrandt’s role as an external URRlab member underscores the project’s enduring impact on academic and institutional collaboration.

We’d like to invite you to attend a public talk by Anastassia Vybornova from the IT University of Copenhagen on the topic of ‘Mathematics in the Ghetto’: pitfalls (and potentials) of computational approaches to urban segregation, that will happen on December 4th at the Faculty of Science. Anastassia Vybornova (she/her) is a PhD student in Urban Data Science at IT University of Copenhagen. Her work is centered around geospatial data and applications, socioeconomic inequalities, and sustainable mobility.

“Mathematics in the Ghetto”: pitfalls (and potentials) of computational approaches to urban segregation

In an increasingly data-driven world where inequalities and polarization are on the rise, what role can computational approaches play for urban segregation? In this talk, we will explore this question based on two ongoing research projects and several ideas-in-the-making. Looking at several contemporary examples of how Big Data – and the assumptions underlying its usage – influence (de)segregation patterns and policies, we ask: “How did we get to this?” We then trace back the history of segregation research and its ideological interdependence with prevalent economic theories and public discourse, highlighting the inherently political nature of corresponding mathematical models. Our overarching aim (work in progress!) is to develop a better discernment of the pitfalls (and potentials) of computational approaches to urban segregation.

• Date: 4.12.2024
• Time: 16:30
• Place: Faculty of Science, Albertov 6, room G2, Prague
• In-person event

During the summer months, members of our research team published several peer-reviewed articles. All of them we recommend to read. Some of them are in open-access form, so they should be available to everyone.

Suburban Autonomy? The Case of Inter-Suburban Commuting Outside Prague

• Authors: Jiří Jakub Zévl, Martin Ouředníček
• More

A shape-based heuristic for the detection of urban block artifacts in street networks

• Authors: Martin Fleischmann, Anastassia Vybornova
• More

Decoding (urban) form and function using spatially explicit deep learning

• Authors: Martin Fleischmann, Daniel Arribas-Bel
• More

Movement refrains of people with visual impairments: A post-phenomenological geography beyond space and place

• Authors: Lucie Pospíšilová, Pavel Doboš, Robert Osman
• More

Call for applications! Students from geography, history, law, and other related fields of study from all levels are welcome to join.

Course description:

“Urban Regulations and Political Memory: Towards Understanding Spatio-Temporal Aspects of Urban Development” is an international, interdisciplinary course organised by five 4EU+ member universities: University of Warsaw, University of Milan, Charles University, Sorbonne University, Heidelberg University as part of the 4EU+ joint educational offer during the academic year 2024/2025. Key topics of the course are the driving forces of urban changes, development of smart cities and interdisciplinary methodologies of urban studies. The course is developed as part of an educational project which addresses changes in the conditions of the urban development of smart cities in Poland, Italy, Czechia and Germany, according to three dimensions: past (history), present (law) and future (geography). Emphasis is put on integrated and interdisciplinary approach in order to help students understand the complexity of new urban centres in which real estate development must coexist with the protection of the environment and with the history and heritage of the local community. The course will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team of historians, lawyers, geographers and educational sciences specialists.

• Course dates: Wednesdays afternoons, starting from 2 October 2024 (13:15-14:45 / 13:15-15:45 / 13:15-16:30).
• Language of instruction: English.
• Number of online didactic hours: around 30 (lectures and workshops).

Assessment methods and conditions for obtaining credit:

Group work: producing an essay and delivering a presentation (each student group has to comprise participants from different universities). Essays will be presented at a face-to-face conference (2 days) held at the Charles University in Prague in March 2025. The best student essays could be published on the course communication platform / website or in co-authorship with the tutor in journals.

• ECTS credits at Charles University: Faculty of Law 4, Faculty of Science 5. / ECTS credits at the University of Milan: 3. (University of Milan: history –only MA students).
• ECTS credits at the University of Warsaw: Faculty of Law 8, Faculty of History 4, Faculty of Geography 8 / ECTS credits at Heidelberg University: Faculty of Geography 8.

Application and selection:

The students will be selected based on their CVs and motivation letters. The deadline for sending the documents is 16 September 2024. The CV and the motivation letter should be sent as a single PDF document to unread@wpia.uw.edu.pl. The file’s name should contain the applicant’s name (surname_name.pdf), and the subject of the email should be “UNREAD+ recruitment”. The motivation letter should indicate the students’ objectives and motivations for taking the course. The motivation letter should not exceed 1,000 characters. Check out our last year’s edition!

We are pleased to announce that a research consortium led by Dr Martin Fleischmann has been awarded a grant to study the structure of cities in Europe in space and time. The project, funded by the European Space Agency, will be carried out in collaboration with academic partners from The Alan Turing Institute, led by prof. Dani Arribas-Bel, and the OECD Geospatial Lab, led by Dr Claudia Baranzelli, and with partners from policy (The Prague Institute of Planning and Development) and practice (4ct). During the 12 months of the project, the team will develop the the methodological basis for the development of a continental scale urban fabric classification that can be unfolded in time using artificial intelligence applied to Sentinel 2 satellite imagery. The total value of the funding is €250,000.

We are very happy that our team members (PhD students) gain experience abroad! A few weeks ago, Niloufar Ghafouriazar, completed a three-month doctoral internship at the University of Toronto’s Geography and Planning Department as an international visiting graduate student. She took a course on Qualitative Data Analysis and concentrated on applying grounded theory qualitative methods in urban studies under the supervision of Professor Zachary Hyde.  

In the last three years, we have welcomed three new PhDs to our team. We just forgot to let you know. Congratulations to all of them, of course, and we look forward to seeing who will be the next successful PhD graduates.

2024

Adam Klsák – Dynamika rezidenční diferenciace a segregace cizinců v metropolitních areálech Česka

2023

Marie Horňáková – Residential mobility and residential preferences of young families and older adults from the Prague Metropolitan Area

2022

Jiří Nemeškal – Denní mobilita a socioekonomické aspekty regionů a jejich vliv na funkční prostorovou organizaci společnosti