The 19th International Conference on Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management (CUPUM) was hosted by the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) at UCL from 23 to 27 June 2025.
The conference featured more than 480 presentations and posters, showcasing an impressive breadth of research. A particular highlight was Professor Michael Batty’s keynote on the role of AI in urban planning and design, which provided valuable insights for future research directions. Alongside the formal sessions, workshops and networking events offered excellent opportunities to exchange ideas and explore collaborations.
At CUPUM 2025, the workshop “Visual Intelligence and Urban Perception” was co-led by several facilitators, including Dr. Asaya Natapov and Dr. Mohammad Forghani from the Impact Hub team.
Visual Intelligence and Urban Perception workshops led by Dr Asaya Natapov and Dr. Mohammad Forghani from the Impact Hub team
The session introduced a custom QGIS plugin, POI VizNet, developed for visibility network analysis, and explored how visual accessibility and perceptual connectivity in urban environments can be quantified using spatial data, image analysis, and graph theory. Participants engaged in hands-on exercises with sample datasets to generate visibility networks, calculate centrality measures, and interpret patterns of visual isolation and prominence. The workshop fostered valuable discussions on the role of visibility in shaping urban experience and on how visual intelligence tools can support more inclusive and human-centred planning.
Furhtermore, Mohamed Shamroukh participated in CUPUM 2025, the leading international conference on Computational Urban Planning and Urban Management. He presented his paper “Spatio-temporal analysis of pedestrian activity in Loughborough using Wi-Fi data”, co-authored with Asya Natapov and Taimaz Larimian, in a session chaired by Duncan Wilson (UCL CASA).
