Spatial Analysis & Action Research Group

Data science for spatial justice.

MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

The Spatial Analysis and Action Research Group, housed in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, uses spatial data science and mapping tools to support place-based movements for social justice in the northeastern United States. Our current research projects focus primarily on consolidation in the rental market and housing insecurity (including evictions) in Massachusetts. Methodologically, we’re most interested in analyzing powerful actors and institutions, with the understanding that these are not solely, but primarily, responsible for producing social injustice. We are also interested in developing new (and rethinking old) methods for interactive and static cartography.

• 77 Massachusetts Ave
• Building 9-545
• Cambridge, MA 02139

Eric Robsky Huntley, PhD is a Lecturer in Urban Science and Planning in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) and the director of the Spatial Analysis and Action Research Group. They are a GIScientist, geographer, and urban planner whose research practice focuses on what mapping and spatial data science can do for movements for social justice. Alongside their primary appointment at DUSP, they have also held academic appointments at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. They are also Founder and Principal of OGRAPHIES Research and Design, a mission-driven spatial data science consultancy. They hold a PhD in geography from the University of Kentucky's Department of Geography and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.