Research Project Overview and Description
This project applies ArcGIS to provide spatial analysis and visualization for urban and planning history research and teaching. It supports the completion of a monograph on the Neo-Assyrian empire and enhances an AI-driven database for student research to bridge historical arts and humanities with modern technologies.
This project applies ArcGIS to provide spatial analysis and visualization within urban and planning history research and teaching. In research, the tool supports the completion of a monograph regarding urban and regional planning in the Neo-Assyrian empire. In teaching, ArcGIS will enhance an online, AI-driven database tracking major land-use categories in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. This database will be used to facilitate final group research and policy-recommendation projects for students in the Common Core course CCGL9070. Ultimately, this initiative connects with the broader “Flourishing Cities: Past, Present, and Future Project” to bridge traditional historical arts and humanities disciplines with professional modern technologies.
Research Outcome
The project aims to produce impactful deliverables across academic research and student-led pedagogy. Research outcomes include the publication of an Oxford University Press monograph by 2027, a pedagogical article on technology-enhanced database teaching, and subsequent collaborative grant proposals like the Teaching Development Grant (TDG). Furthermore, the project will yield four student-coauthored research articles in peer-reviewed international journals. Culturally, the project will expand the online course database to include a public website linked with the Flourishing Cities platform, alongside permanent installations, project demonstrations, and student poster sessions hosted at the Arts Technology Lab.
About the Researcher
Dr. Yi Samuel Chen is an Associate Professor of Practice in Urban Heritage and Sustainability at the School of Humanities and the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Flourishing Cities: Past, Present, and Future Project. Dr. Chen holds an M.A. from Harvard and a D.Phil from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the history of urbanism and planning, specifically in early West Asia, and explores how urban heritage and planning history contribute to modern urban sustainability and resilience. He has previously researched and taught at the University of Oxford and serves as a consultant for urban conservation and sustainable development.
Fund Source
Staff Seed Fund (pending)
For enquiries
please contact at atlabhku.hk