Technology and Society: Computational Models for Public Decision-Making

1-0-1 units · Undergraduate

This workshop builds on urban-related computational problems (involving, for example, network routing, Monte Carlo simulation, resource allocation, and recursion) to focus on real-world contexts and decision-making cases. Explores how problem framing can impact analytic formulations, and how analyses of social policies that impact citizens unevenly can be more sensitive to context and social equity considerations. Problem settings include access and control of local roads, mandatory insurance and building codes for coastal development, and locating essential public services. Fosters innovative problem-solving abilities by designing and testing alternative problem formulations, exercising Python programming skills, and introducing urban planning practices and social policy concepts. Limited to 25.