Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Professor Nicole Kalms.

Nicole is a professor at Monash University and describes herself as a practice-based researcher interested in doing things in the real world. Trained as an architect, she leads the XYX Lab at Monash University, which focuses on gender-sensitive design with a specific focus on public places. Her work examines women's experiences and the experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities, thinking about how we can make change through design interventions in urban spaces.

In this episode Nicole tells us about mobilising the power of data to intersect with storytelling, particularly around gendered violence and minoritised people's experiences in cities. Nicole and I discuss the HyperSext City exhibition that uses beautiful graphic design to present confronting data about urban safety, and the YourGround crowdsourcing project mapping safe and unsafe experiences across Victoria and New South Wales.

We talk about the importance of making data persuasive and publicly available, the challenge of balancing aesthetic appeal with difficult content, and the role of design in both data collection and communication. We finish our chat discussing Nicole's advice about breaking data out of conventions and counting what matters. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube

Podcast Production by Perk Digital

This podcast is recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi peoples and edited on Gaibal country.   I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.

Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant discussion with Dr. Nina Valkanova. Nina is a design strategist with 20 years experience in digital innovation across consultancies, labs and applied research.

In this episode Nina tells us about her research on civic data visualisations in public spaces and how they can shift urban technologies from purely efficiency-driven environments to participation and reflection-based learning settings. Nina and I discuss the different approaches needed for diverse audiences - from passive public audiences to commercial stakeholders to students in educational settings.

We talk about the role of aesthetics and emotion in creating curiosity and engagement, the ethical implications of displaying public data, and the challenges of balancing meaning with aesthetic appeal. We finish our chat discussing Nina's advice about embracing data storytelling for interpretation rather than just comprehension and the importance of making the unspoken visible. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube

Podcast Production by Perk Digital

This podcast is recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi peoples  and edited on Gaibal country.   

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.

Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to this very special series here on the Smart Community Podcast, all about data storytelling, As part of my PhD research, I've been speaking with experts from all over the world who are using data visualisations and storytelling in real world projects to support decision making and advocacy.

In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with friend of the podcast, Prof Marcus Foth. Marcus has been on the show twice before, in Episode 230 and also way back in Episode 4!

Marcus is a Professor in urban informatics and strategic design at the QUT School of Design at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. With extensive experience at the intersection of people, place, and technology, he leads research into smart city infrastructure adoption, sustainability approaches, and data governance issues.

In this episode Marcus tells us about his recent work analysing the Brisbane 2032 Olympics stadium controversy and how a community group used data from other stadiums to reveal that the narrative presented for the proposed stadium may not be telling the whole story. We talk about the role of sophisticated data visualisation consultancies in creating narratives that serve corporate lobbying interests over community needs and the how increasing accessibility of AI tools may help democratise data visualisation and address the skills, knowledge and resources gap for grassroots advocacy groups.
We talk about some impactful data visualisation examples from ABC's investigative journalism that combat misinformation, as well as data governance challenges and lack of data literacy in the community. We finish our chat discussing Marcus' perspective on the need for critical thinking when using new data tools and the importance of civic engagement in our democracy. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube

Podcast Production by Perk Digital

This podcast is recorded on  Yugarabul country and edited on Gaibal country.   I pay my respects to traditional owners of country and their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today. Here on the Smart Community Podcast, we talk about data, technology, communities and the future. First Nations peoples have been sharing knowledge, caring for country, and telling stories for tens of thousands of years. I honour that deep connection of storytelling and community connection as we continue our conversation together here today.

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and perspectives expressed by guests on The Smart Community Podcast are solely those of the individual speakers. They do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the host, Zoe Eather, or of The Smart Community Podcast as a whole.

Any discussion of ideas, products, organisations, or services by podcast guests does not constitute endorsement or recommendation by the host or the podcast. Listeners are encouraged to form their own opinions and seek professional advice where appropriate.