Bio

Hi, I’m a PhD student in Informatics at the University of California, Irvine.

In my research, I look at data-driven decision-support systems and knowledge infrastructure in urban governance. In the realm of wicked data, where big data analytics and community mapping happen at the same time, how can we represent the voices of different social groups truthfully and equally through data? What kinds of negotiations and compromises happen in the data-driven decision-making processes?

Leveraging mixed methods, I pursue ways to make the decision-making processes more democratic and just, by designing information systems for collaborative sense-making and community-centered data science.

Before I joined the current program, I studied urban planning at Georgia Tech, focusing on urban data analytics to understand urban communities’ social networks and activities.

I have also practiced as a strategic designer/data analyst in urban planning & design organizations in South Korea and the US. There I found my interest in the power of data that can either support or suppress people in cities.

These experiences across urban data analytics and participatory planning have invited me to tackle the conflicting values and interests manifested through disparate approaches to data: qualitative and quantitative; objective and subjective: top-down and bottom-up, etc.

My work often happens in front of computer screens, but the most exciting part of my works happens while I’m interacting with real people on the streets.

Publications

Lee, S., Le Dantec, C. More Than a Property: Place-based Meaning Making and Mobilization on Social Media to Resist Gentrification. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 7, CSCW1, 2023

Liang, X., Lee, S., Chen, H., de la Peña, B., Andris, C. Characteristics of Jetters and Little Boxes: An Extensibility Study Using the Neighborhood Connectivity Survey. Social Inclusion, 2022

Chande, A., Lee, S., Harris, M., Nguyen, Q., Beckett, S., Hilley, T., Andris, C., Weitz, J. Real-time, Interactive Website for US-county-level COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment. Nature Human Behavior, 2020

Lee, D., Lee, S. Inferring the Character of Urban Commercial Areas from Age-biased Online Search Results: How Place Recommendation Data Can Reveal Dynamic Seoul Neighborhoods. In UbiComp/ISWC Adjunct, 2019

Presentations

Interrupting Governments’ Data Performance: Critical Reading of Government Data Narratives as a Strategy to Empower Communities in Data-driven Cities. Lee, S., Warren, R., Mazmanian, M. Data Justice Conference, 2023, Cardiff, UK.

How Urban Activism Evolves with Social Media: A Case Study of the Anti-Redevelopment Activism in Seoul, South Korea. Lee, S. American Association of Geographers 2022 Annual Meeting, 2022

Estimating Diversity at Points of Interest (POIs) in Atlanta, Georgia using Origin-Destination Trip Data. Lee, S., Andris, C. Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) 2021 Annual Conference, Virtual.

Education

Informatics PhD

University of California, Irvine, 2021-Present

Master in City and Regional Planning

Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019-2021

BSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Seoul National University, 2014-2019, Summa Cum Laude
Minor in Geography

Research Experience

Graduate Researcher, University of California - Irvine

Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical, and Accessible Technology (CREATE) 2021-Present

Leading research where I examine how local governments adopt data-driven technology to policy decisions to improve social justice and equity

Graduate Research Assistant, Georgia Tech

Friendly Cities Lab (Lead: Dr. Clio Andris), School of City and Regional Planning 2019-2021

Conducted computational research on social network and flows in cities and their impact on spatial behaviors

Research Intern, KAIST

Maturepolis Lab (Lead: Dr. David Lee), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 2018

Studied the demographic pattern in commercial districts using search engine data and card transaction data.

Work Experience

San Francisco Planning Department, Intern

San Francisco, CA, US 2022

Team: Community Equity Division

Developed a prototype of San Francisco Neighborhood Profiles (interactive dashboard)

Led the project managing inter-departmental communication and design processes

Atlanta Regional Commission, Intern

Atlanta, GA, US 2020

Team: Research & Analytics, Transportation & Mobility Services (Joint)

Technical support to improve public access to urban data

Spatial analysis for equitable commuting regarding COVID-19

YANJI.CO.LTD., Urban Planner / GIS Analyst

Seoul, South Korea 2017-2019

Designed and implemented interactive media for participatory planning workshops

Spatial Analysis for strategic design of public spaces

Teaching Experience

Teacher’s assistant

University of California - Irvine, Irvine, CA, US 2021

ICS 5: Global Disruption and Information Technology