In a rapidly urbanizing world, cities can no longer be studied and designed as human-only habitat. The alarming decline of wildlife and biodiversity urges citizens, practitioners, and policy makers at all governance levels to give non-humans a more equal place in urban systems. In this context, urban planners and designers can play a significant role in enhancing metabolic interactions between human and non-human agents in urban space and foster animal-inclusive thinking in cities.
The CO-HABITAT project will develop a novel set of tools to advance urban design practice in the analysis of the manifold interactions among non-human and human agency underpinning urban metabolic processes and the generation of non-human habitats in the Brussels Capital Region. The research final output will be a CO-HABITAT atlas unlocking future inter-species co-habitation pathways in the Brussels Capital Region and coalescing ecology and urban design with citizen science and a range of policy and industry stakeholders.
The work of the postdoc researcher at UCLouvain will consist of developing the CO- HABITAT data platform which will support the elaboration of the design atlas through centralization and harmonization of primary data on urban wildlife in the Brussels Capital Region. The researcher will investigate availability and resolution of data issued from monitoring campaigns and research initiatives at the urban and regional scale and ascertain their relevance to describe wildlife flows and spatiotemporal dynamics in the design process. Data retrieved will be harmonized and selected based on their applicability in the design process and then compiled in the CO-HABITAT data platform which will be conceived and designed as a dynamic toolbox to orient the designwork. The platform will consists of: i) a data dashboard collecting and systematizing quantitative and qualitative datasets on urban wildlife in Brussels (species occurrence, movements, and spatiotemporal habitat patterns), ranging across scales and resolution levels and sourced from local authorities’ portals, independent crowdsourcing initiatives as well as scientific reports and policy briefs; ii) a data communication and visualization system that will allow agile data integration in the design work and appropriation of the data dashboard by the design researcher and stakeholders involved in the atlas development. Graphical representations in the visualization system will allow expressinf unusual data relationships and unexpected correlations, boosting the conceptual and modelling creativity of the design researcher.
Start date: between 1st October 2021 and 1st December 2021.
The postdoc researcher will be based at the Brussels-St Gilles campus of the LAB Institute, Rue Henri Wafelaerts 47, 1060 Brussels.
Further details about this position can be obtained from Prof. Daniela Perrotti:daniela.perrotti@uclouvain.be.
Benefits
The net monthly salary is of 2.600€ ca. after tax. In addition to the salary, the funding package also covers social benefits, health care and allowance for traveling to and from work. An additional budget of 5.000€ is provided to cover international mobility expenses, IT and other operating costs related to the research.
Qualifications
Minimum of a PhD in relevant subject area (Data Science) and up to 2-year research experience from PhD
Relevant PhD dissertation topic (data management and visualization).
Skills
Fluency in English and basic knowledge of French (basic knowledge of Dutch will be an additional asset).
Excellent written English communication skills
Excellent organizational and communication skills
Excellent presentation and oral communication skills
Ability to work independently within agreed guidelines
Commitment to developing internationally competitive publication profile
Relevant Experience
Essential
Previous experience in systems design, database management, and data visualization (e.g. PhD thesis and follow up research).
Engagement with quantitative and qualitative data collection and management (e.g. PhD thesis and follow up research).
Desirable
Previous experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Knowledge of and interest in Urban Ecology and Urban Design.
Selection Criteria
Applications should include (in one single pdf file):
- A cover letter (2 pages max) including an explanation on how your profile matches the research project, qualifications/skills and required experience.
- A full CV including a list of publications as well as contact details of two academic referees.
- A short summary of your PhD
Please submit your application file to the project supervisor, Prof. DanielaPerrotti: daniela.perrotti@uclouvain.be
Online interviews with short-listed candidates will be held the week of 14 June 2021 on Teams orZoom.