seung jun choi
Urban Data Design Lab
Cities. People. Intelligent systems.Explore the researchU2D / EST. 2026
Selected research

Reading cities.
Reimagining systems.

I connect planning, engineering, computer science, information, and public policy to address emerging urban challenges.

01 / INFRASTRUCTURE2026

The physical geography
of a digital world.

Data center site planning in the United States · Cities
02 / URBAN AI2026

From policy text
to planning intelligence.

Climate equity policy with RAG and language models · Computational Urban Science
03 / MOBILITY & EQUITY2025

Utility, equity, and the space between.

Public electric vehicle charger allocations in Austin · Transportation Research Part D

Research themes
01

Urban AI & intelligent systems

Exploring agentic AI, AIoT, and language models as tools for interpreting urban data and supporting planning practice.

Agentic AI / AIoT / RAG
02

Mobility & spatial equity

Examining transportation electrification, bike-sharing, and transit access to understand how urban systems serve different communities.

EV charging / Accessibility / Equity
03

Climate & digital infrastructure

Investigating data center siting, community acceptance, and urban environmental risks to inform sustainable infrastructure decisions.

Data centers / Climate / Urban sensing
Ongoing projects

From IoT to AIoT

Reframing disaster response protocols with agentic AI.

Seung Jun Choi & Kijin Seong · 2026

Toward sustainable data centers

Examining community acceptance and the NIMBY effect.

Seung Jun Choi · 2026

VLM-driven urban auditing

Assessing urban safety through vision-language models and CPTED principles.

Seung Jun Choi & Wookjae Yang · 2026

Director
Research / Design / Urban intelligence

Seung Jun Choi.최승준   /   PhD, AICP

Cities, people,
and intelligent systems.

Assistant Professor of Urban Policy and Administration
Incheon National University, South Korea

Explore my research
A smiling black-haired toy-style Seung Jun Choi, seated and waving hello.
SEUNG JUN CHOI
Publications19 peer-reviewed articles

Peer-reviewed articles · * Primary / corresponding author, as designated in the original publication list.

19 publications

Research reports & commentary

Examining the Impacts of Land Use on Air Quality in Chicago
Jiao & Choi · CM2 Report · 2024

Extreme Heat and Particulate Matter Exposure and Risk Assessment in Seoul Metropolitan Region
Seong & Choi · The Seoul Institute · 2022

Austin Transit Report: Transit Rider Needs and Visions in the Texas State Capital
Karner et al. · UT Austin · 2022

Exploring beyond the Routes
Choi · The Daily Texan · 2023

TeachingCourses & previous teaching

Incheon National University

Fall 2026

Urban Planning Theory and History

Land Use Planning Practicum

Planning Theory Seminar

Spring 2026

Urban Planning

Urban Research Methods

Urban Environment Big Data Analytics

Previous teaching

Northern Arizona University · 2025

Instructor · GSP 130 Mapping the World

The University of Texas at Austin

Head TA · CS395T Case Studies in Machine Learning · 2022–2024

TA · UGS302 Ethical AI: Good Systems · 2023, 2025

TA · LA 329 Global Learning Seminar–Japan · 2024

Course development · CS395T · 2021–2022

Background & experienceEducation, appointments & awards

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Policy and Administration, College of Urban Science, at Incheon National University. I direct the Urban Data Design (U2D) Lab.

My research focuses on urban informatics, urban AI, urban systems, and smart cities. I earned my master's and doctoral degrees in Community and Regional Planning from The University of Texas at Austin and am a certified planner in both the United States and South Korea.

Education

PhD · Community and Regional Planning

The University of Texas at Austin · 2025

MSc · Community and Regional Planning

The University of Texas at Austin · 2022

Appointments

2026–present · Incheon National University

Tenure-track Assistant Professor

Director, Urban Data Design Lab

2025–2026 · Northern Arizona University

Tenure-track Assistant Professor

2020–2025 · The University of Texas at Austin

GRA / TA / Research Fellow · Urban Information Lab

Selected awards

2025 · UTSOA Outstanding Dissertation in Community and Regional Planning

2024 · COMTO Austin Chapter Scholarship

2022 · NSF Research Traineeship in Ethical AI

2018 · Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Commendation, South Korea

Grants & funded research
  • Developing an AIoT-Based Multi-Agent Urban Management Framework: Addressing Urban Microclimate and Data Center Operational Risks — Incheon National University
  • Exploring AI Technology For Transportation Data Applications — Arizona Transportation Institute
  • Data Visualization Tools for Travel Demand Modeling Notable Practices — Arizona Transportation Institute
  • Charging Forward: Crafting an Inclusive SMART Roadmap for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Navajo Nation, AZ — Center for Climate-Smart Transportation
  • Toward Equitable Transportation Electrification in Austin, TX — Energy Institute, UT Austin
  • Analysis of Heatwave and Particulate Matter Exposure Risk in Seoul: Combining Real-time De Facto Population Data — Seoul Institute
Conferences & presentations

2026 · AAG Annual Meeting; TRB Annual Meeting

2025 · ACSP; Global Exchange Session on AI, Data Science, and Smart Cities with Hiroshima University; UT Good Systems Symposium; Invest and Trade Western Australia Delegation; TRB

2024 · ACSP; Smart Mobility & AI Symposium; UT Energy Week

2023 · ACSP; City of Austin–UT Austin Partnership Showcase; Smart Cities and Generative AI Symposium; UT Energy Week; TRB

2022 · ACSP; SBE Seoul

2021 · IEEE BigData; ACSP

The lab

Data to understand.
Design to reimagine.

The U2D Lab integrates urban data and design to explore, analyze, and reimagine urban environments. Our work connects urban technology with community values.

Connect with U2D
Start a conversation

Let's connect.

For research collaborations and academic inquiries.

csj@inu.ac.kr

Department of Urban Policy and Administration
Incheon National University · South Korea

GitHub