I contributed to the workshop “Cities as Complex Systems (CtCS2025) - Lessons Learned from Three Decades of Urban Complexity Science: Formulating Policy Recommendations”, organised by the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Austria, from May 4 to 5, 2025.
The event brought together researchers in urban complexity science from institutions including the Santa Fe Institute, University of Chicago, University College London, Columbia University, and the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development. The aim was to reflect on key insights from the past thirty years of urban complexity research and formulate evidence-based policy recommendations for the future.
I delivered a stimulus talk to help guide some of the workshop discussions. I highlighted the potential of digital trace data for advancing our understanding of urban mobility, while also discussing the methodological and ethical challenges that come with using these data in policy-relevant research.
Issues related to data accessibility, representativeness and the translation of complex findings into actionable policy recommendations remain significant hurdles. The talk connected these challenges to the DEBIAS project and its methodological framework for mitigating biases in digital trace data.
Back to top