Dr. Andrew Stokols received his PhD in urban planning and political economy at MIT, where his research looked at how urban technologies (smart cities, IoT, 5G, AI) are being shaped in an era of geopolitical competition, with research in Southeast Asia and China. Previously he was research director for ETH Future Cities Lab Singapore, worked at World Resources Institute in Washington D.C., and as research director at Peking University’s Ecological urbanism center. He has a Master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard graduate school of design and a Bachelor’s from UC-Berkeley in Chinese history and urban planning, and has been a visiting Fulbright Scholar at Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology. Currently Andrew is a lecturer and postdoctoral fellow at MIT.
Andrew’s current research explores the varieties of digital urbanism emerging throughout the world, drawing on the perspectives of political science, science and technology studies (STS), and urban theory to explore the co-evolution of urban space and digital technologies, and the ways in which national governments increasingly use urban development to incubate new economic sectors and project national power. Some main questions/goals of this research are:
How do the policies of rapidly developing countries use urban development as a means to fostering new economic sectors, and how do legacies of prior rounds of development (such as so-called “developmental state” traditions, or institutional cultures) impact current economic policy around digital urbanism in specific countries?
Do these “variations” provide more state-centric alternatives to a private-sector-driven digital urbanism dominated by so-called “platform” companies? How do such approaches compare on metrics of equity, inclusivity, and environmental sustainability?
How can research on emerging “digital urbanisms” broaden our understanding of technology outside the “West”, and broaden our understanding of “actually existing smart cities”?
While the concept of the “smart city” was initially promoted by Western multinational technology firms such as Siemens, Cisco, and IBM, today the idea is most readily embraced by rapidly developing countries, particularly throughout Asia. Smart cities have also been roundly criticized by urban scholars for their exclusionary impact and failure to address some of the most pressing urban problems. But despite the pervasive impact of technology on urban environments, efforts of technology firms to directly shape the urban environment have been limited, particularly in North America—the failure of Google’s Toronto project was a notable example. However, in countries with strong state intervention in urban land markets, state authorities have greater ability to coordinate urban and technology deployment. Andrew’s dissertation research, with cases in China, Singapore, and Thailand explores how states and companies are increasingly using urban development to directly deploy new technological systems and incubate emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and internet of things (ioT).
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Prior Work Experience
Andrew has worked in both the U.S. and Asia on a wide range of projects involving sustainable development and cities. Most recently he was a manager of research and development for Future Cities Lab Singapore, a joint center of ETH Zurich and Singapore’s National Research Foundation. Through this role, Andrew helped translate urban research into specific applications for the needs of companies and city governments across Singapore and Southeast Asia.
As a 2012 Fulbright Fellow in China, Andrew spent a year in Xi'an studying the effects of forced relocation on rural livelihoods in western China. He documented the challenges of farmers who have been moved as part of massive relocation projects, to specially-built "urban" dwellings in new towns across China as part of the government's efforts to boost consumption and end rural poverty. He also examined the efforts of Chinese cities to develop "creative" industry zones based around innovative industries and arts through an in-depth study of artists and residents in Xi'an's "textile city" 纺织城 district. After this, he worked at the World Resources Institute Ross Center for Sustainable Cities in Washington D.C., analyzing data on the impacts of WRI projects in various cities around the world and assisting the Director of the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities in developing strategic direction for the Center.
He has also consulted for the Global Heritage Fund to develop sustainable tourism guidelines in the UNESCO city of Pingyao, China and spent a year in as an editor and reporter with the Korea Joong-Ang Daily/International New York Times in Seoul, South Korea, where he wrote on China-Korea relations, and Seoul's new eco-city, among other topics.
After graduating college, he worked for a nonprofit in Beijing managing heritage preservation and rural development projects, and taught GIS to community organizations and students as a 2011 Davis Peace Prize Fellow in Sri Lanka.
Educational Background
Andrew graduated with a masters in urban planning at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). His master’s thesis explored the potential of urban network analysis to improve walkability and community in China's super block neighborhoods. Andrew has also been involved in research projects investigating various facets of global urbanization, particularly in China and Asia. As part of Neil Brenner's urban theory lab at Harvard GSD, Andrew investigated the confluence of the global logistics industry and China's "One Belt One Road" program in furthering urbanization in central Asia and western China.
Andrew graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in history and urban planning, and a minor in global poverty and practice.
His work has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, ChinaFile, and ChinaDialogue.
杜安竹是一位城市规划者城市设计师与研究者。麻省理工学院城市规划系(準博士)。2017哈佛设计院城市规划硕士。2010年加州大学伯克利分校城市规划与历史专业。他是2012-2013年美国富布赖特研究员在中国西安建筑科技大学研究了中国生态移民与新农村项目，主要关注城市化对农民的社会和经济影响。 他也研究了中国的 ‘创意产业’ 发展包括艺术区的发展和设计 。2011普林斯顿在亚洲项目管理人在北京文化遗产保护中心。
For inquiries, questions, or other please message via email at stokols@mit.edu
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