Michael Batty | |
|---|---|
 Michael Batty | |
| Born | (1945-01-11)11 January 1945 (age 81) |
| Occupations | Urban Planner & Geographer |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester (BA, 1966) University of Wales (PhD, 1984) |
Michael BattyCBE FBA FRS FAcSS (born 11 January 1945) is a British academic currently appointed as Bartlett Professor of Planning inThe Bartlett atUniversity College London. His work spans the fields ofurban planning,geography and spatialdata science.[1][2] He has been Director—now Chairman—of theCentre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, set up when he was appointed to UCL in 1995.[3] His research and the work of CASA is focused on computer models of city systems. He was awarded theWilliam Alonso Prize of theRegional Science Association in 2011 for his book Cities and Complexity, the same prize a second time for his book The New Science of Cities in 2017–2018, the University Consortium GIS Research Award in 2012,[4] and theLauréat Prix International de Géographie Vautrin Lud, the so-called 'Nobel for geography', in 2013. In 2015, he was awarded theFounder's Medal of theRoyal Geographical Society and in 2016, the Gold Medal of theRoyal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). He also received the Senior Scholar Award of the Complex Systems Society in September 2016.
Michael Batty was born in Liverpool and educated at Northway County Primary School[5] from 1950 to 1956 and then atQuarry Bank High School for Boys from 1956 to 1962. He went to theUniversity of Manchester (1962–1966) where he studiedTown and Country Planning gaining the BA degree with First Class Honours in 1966. His PhD is from theUniversity of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology in 1984. The thesis on Pseudo Dynamic Urban Models[6] was made available online in 2012.[7]
He began his academic career in theUniversity of Manchester in 1966, where he was appointed an assistant lecturer intown and country planning. He then spent 10 years at theUniversity of Reading as research assistant, lecturer and reader ingeography. During this time he spent one year as a visiting assistant professor of transport planning in the department of civil engineering in theUniversity of Waterloo, Ontario. He moved to theUniversity of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (now theUniversity of Cardiff) in 1979, where he was professor oftown planning. During this time, he acted as head of department, and dean of the faculty of environmental design. In 1990, he moved to direct the USNational Science Foundation (NSF)National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) at theState University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo), where he was a professor ofgeography.[citation needed]
He has held several visiting appointments in computing, engineering, planning, and geography at the following universities:University of Illinois;University of Melbourne;University of Hong Kong;University of Bristol;University of Michigan; and he currently has visiting appointments atCardiff University[11] andArizona State University.[12]
His research has focussed on the development of analytical methods and computer models for simulating the structure of cities and regions. Early work involved aggregate land use transport models which are summarised in his first bookUrban Modelling.[13] After this early work, he focused on more visual representations of cities and their models and some of these were represented in his second bookMicrocomputer Graphics.[14] WithPaul Longley, he publishedFractal Cities.[15] This work established the idea that cities might be regarded as the outcome of self-similarfractal processes generating structure from the bottom up. His work on complexity theory in urban analysis and planning is the focus of his bookCities and Complexity,[16] a summary of which is available on his ComplexCity web site.[17] His bookThe New Science of Cities.[18] ties many of the ideas together, developing the notion that it is flows rather than locations that are key to an understanding not only of cities but also the processes for their design and planning. His most recent bookInventing Future Cities was published by MIT Press in 2018 and focuses on the idea that we can invent the future with respect to cities but can never predict them.
He has edited several volumes, most recentlyAgent-Based Models of Geographical Systems[19] andVirtual Geographic Environments.[20]
Details of his publications are available from his curriculum vita[21]and on his personal web pages.[22][23]
Learned Societies: He has been elected aFellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2023, aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2009, aFellow of the British Academy in 2001, a Fellow ofAcademy of Social Sciences in 2001 and aFellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1982.[citation needed]
Professional Institutes: He has been a Member and now Fellow of theRoyal Town Planning Institute since 1971, and theChartered Institute of Logistics and Transport since 1984. He has been a Fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society since 1972.
He has recently acted as: Member of the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information – APPSI, Chair of theESRC Census Advisory Committee, and a Member of the UKResearch Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2004–2009 Geography Panel.
At Cardiff, he was a Member of the Computer Board for British Universities and Research Councils, nowJISC (1988–1990), a Member of the SERC (Science and Engineering Research Council) Transport Committee (1982–1985), Chair (1980–1982), then vice-chair (1982–1984) of the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Environment and Planning Committee, and chair of the Conference of Heads of Planning Schools (CHOPS) 1986–1980.[citation needed]
| Year awarded | Name of Award | Awarding organisation | Reason for award | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | CSS Senior Scientific Award | Complex Systems Society | He has pioneered the idea of cities as complex systems, as well as for his leading role in the conformation of the Science of Cities that combines a wide spectrum of disciplines ranging from Statistical Physics, Mathematics, Architecture and Engineering, to Social Sciences and Economics.)[24] | ||
| 2013 | Vautrin Lud Prize | ||||
| 2010 | Alonso Prize | Regional Science Association | Cities and Complexity (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005)[25] | ||
| 2004 | CBE | Services to geography | |||
| 2002 | Innovation | Association of Geographic Information | |||
| 1999 | Sir George Back Award | Royal Geographical Society | Contributions to national policy and practice in planning and city design | ||
| 1998 | Technological Progress | Association of Geographic Information |
