In an interview with Smartplanet.com, SFI postdoctoral fellow Hyejin Youn describes how social and economic data from cities around the world fit scaling patterns also found in biological organisms.
These mathematical regularities could help urban planners and politicians make predictions and prepare for growth, crime or economic trends, and other phenomena associated with urbanization.
She is part of SFI’s Cities and Urbanization Team, which includes SFI Distinguished Professor Geoffrey West and SFI External Professor Luis Bettencourt.
Read the Smartplanet.com interview (July 27, 2011)