My passion is in the burgeoning field of urban informatics, which uses modern digital data to better understand and serve local communities. I am a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University and Director of the Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI), an interuniversity center that is an international model for advancing place-based, civically-engaged research that leverages data to benefit local communities.
My research focuses on the physical and social conditions of neighborhoods and the citywide systems that serve them, emphasizing questions of equity. This mission has allowed me to study many different subjects, including crime, education, transportation, climate resilience, public health, and public infrastructure, working with dozens of public agencies and community partners. The work has resulted in 60+ peer-reviewed publications and coverage from multiple media outlets, including Wired, The Boston Globe, and National Public Radio. I have received $10M in funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and others.
I have published three books. "The Urban Commons" (Harvard University Press; 2018) tells the story of how Boston’s 311 system demonstrates the power of data and technology for improving cities in the 21st century, winning the American Political Science Association's Dennis Judd Best Book Award for Urban & Local Politics. My textbook, "Urban Informatics" (Chapman Hall / CRC Press; 2022), is the first on data science and community-based research, policy, and practice, and is freely accessible at ui.danourban.com. My third book, "The Pointillistic City" (MIT Press; 2024), surfaces the underexplored issue of microspatial inequities – disparities street to street that impact the health and well-being of ourselves and our neighbors.
