Laxmi Ramasubramanian, Hunter College, City University of New York

Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College.  Dr. Ramasubramanian holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Architecture from her home country - India, a Master in City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Her doctoral dissertation, funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, focused on the dynamics of knowledge production and use among community-based organizations in Boston and Chicago.  Dr. Ramasubramanian conducts both theoretical and applied research that examines how the use of digital technologies influences and impacts public involvement in planning and decision-making, essential to the creation of a participatory democracy and an empowered citizenry. Her current research examines how widely available interactive 3D visualization tools are being used to support public participation in transportation decisionmaking and is funded by the Federal Transit Administration.

Dr. Ramasubramanian has been active in UCGIS since 2000.   She participated in a UCGIS-HUD funded research project on Urban Indicators.  She has previously served as a member of the UCGIS Communications Committee and as Secretary to the UCGIS board in 2005 and 2006.  She is also active in the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA); she co-chaired the 3rd Annual Public Participation and GIS conference and has served on the conference planning committees for subsequent PPGIS conferences and events.  Her book, GIS and Public Participation will be published by Springer Publishing later this year.

01/26/2009