Shanghai Key Laboratory Of Urban Design and Urban Science (LOUD) was approved to establish by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality in 2022. The Key Lab is the first sponsored center of its kind at NYU Shanghai.  Leveraging the multidisciplinary strength of NYU Shanghai faculty in urban science, social science, environment science, data science etc, LOUD focuses on cutting-edge research of computational urban science in planning. The two specialized areas are urban design and urban science. We combine education and research by emphasizing practical aspects of urbanization, such as architecture, urban design, and urban development. We examine urban transformation in digital smart cities, emphasizing multidisciplinary aspects of urban planning, urban data science, urban ecology, and urban geography. More specifically, the three research areas are:

(1) Urban Analytics for Sustainable Digital Transformation in Cities
(2) Simulation of Climate-adaptive Low-carbon Cities 
(3) Green-Blue Space Planning using AI and Urban Sensing Techniques 

LOUD concentrates on the successful practices of urban development in China. Building on domestic and international experiences, we conduct research and practice in and beyond the Yangtze River Delta region, adapt applied research and consultation scenarios, commit to carrying out high-quality, practical exploration, form typical innovative cases, and provide valuable policy suggestions.

With a multidisciplinary team of experts in urban planning and design, urban ecology, urban geography, and data science, LOUD is dedicated to building bridges between Chinese and international academics so that they can share ideas and expand their collaboration. LOUD has formed partnerships with Tongji University, East China Normal University, Southeast University, and Peking University. LOUD also collaborated with the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford by recruiting outstanding Masters and Ph.D. candidates.