Joseph Ferreira

Joe Ferreira is Professor (Post-tenure) of Urban Information Systems at MIT.  Both his undergraduate degree (in electrical engineering) and his PhD (in operations research) are from MIT.  After graduating in the early 1970s, he joined the Department of Urban Studies and Planning faculty where he has taught urban analytics and spatial analysis for urban planning and urban management.  His research makes extensive use of geoprocessing and spatially-detailed urban data to model land use, transportation, and environmental interaction.  He has been principal investigator of numerous research projects and publications supported through agencies and foundations such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Transportation, Federal Geographic Data Committee, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Capital Planning Commission, Open Geospatial Consortium, the Volvo Research and Education Foundation, and the Singapore National Research Foundation.  His recent research and publications have focused on urban performance measures, urban development impacts and risk management, and coordinated policies for housing and transportation improvement.  He is a Past President of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA, 1998-99) and has served on Boards of several professional organizations.  Professor Ferreira was the founding director of the MIT Planning Department's Computer Resource Lab, and spearheaded the Department’s urban data science efforts that have grown out of earlier initiatives involving planning support systems and urban information systems.