Eric Robsky Huntley

Eric Robsky Huntley is a Lecturer in Urban Science and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT where they maintain affiliations with the Data + Feminism Lab and the Healthy Neighborhoods Study. They are also the director of the MIT Spatial Analysis and Action Research Group and the Visualization, Inquiry, and Analysis Learning Lab and the chair of the Digital Geographies Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. They are also founder and principal of OGRAPHIES Research & Design, a mission-driven GIS, mapping, and spatial data science consultancy that designs tools and analyzes problems for clients who are working towards a more just world.

Robsky Huntley is a GIScientist, geographer, and designer whose work centers on what they call "mapping up," a theory of data science practice that ties forms of oppression and domination to the institutional arrangements and actors that perpetuate them (e.g., mining site to mineral developer, eviction to landlord). The current research of the Spatial Analysis and Action Research Group focuses on 1) identifying shared ownership of property-owning LLCs in Massachusetts using spatial network analysis; 2) building interactive tools and visualizations to make this information accessible to tenants, activists, and advocates; and 3) analyzing the role of attorneys who represent landlords in creating housing instability. Their scholarly work has appeared in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Thresholds, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and multiple edited collections; it has been supported the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab, and the Antipode Foundation.

The critical theoretical approach that informs Robsky Huntley's research is also central to their pedagogy, for which they have received multiple teaching awards (including the DUSP Excellence in Teaching Award in both 2022 and 2023, as well as a Teaching with Digital Technologies Award from MIT’s Office of Open Learning). They teach courses centered on GIS, spatial database design, spatial statistics, mapping and cartography, and the history of urban technology. An active and engaged resident of Somerville and Greater Boston, they are the co-chair of the City of Somerville's Anti-Displacement Task Force's Residential Subcommittee and a member of the fundraising committee for the Boston Workers Circle.

In addition to their primary appointment at MIT, Robsky Huntley has held academic appointments at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, 2021-2023) and Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (Adjunct Assistant Professor, 2021). They hold a PhD in Geography and a Graduate Certificate in Social Theory from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology, with a concentration in Media Arts and Engineering.