URSA Research
About Us
UCW URSA Research, which stands for “Urban Resilience and Sustainability Alliance," is an initiative for collaborative research dedicated to advancing research in urban resilience and sustainability.
Founded by faculty members at University Canada West in Vancouver, URSA has since expanded to include partners across Canada and Europe.
Together, they strategically address the multifaceted challenges of urbanization through a scientifically grounded systemic approach. Departing from conventional methodologies, URSA embraces a comprehensive, network-centric lens, recognizing the dynamics inherent in urban environments.
Drawing inspiration from the analogy to the constellation, URSA consists of seven in-progress research mosaics.
Research Mosaics
Integrated Urban Model
MOSAIC I develops multi-level urban socio-economic resilience framework supplemented with urban system abstraction hierarchy (USAH).
Stakeholder Analysis
MOSAIC II systematically identifies, researches, classifies, and engages all stakeholders in urban resilience, including the public sector, NGOs, private sector, and community-based organizations.
Graph Database
MOSAIC III is about using this information to start building up a data infrastructure that can help to model the complex interlinkages between socio-economic systems, stakeholders, and urban resilience indicators.
Complex Network Analysis
MOSAIC IV applies Complex Network Analysis (CNA) to map, quantify, and analyze the resilience of urban systems. The analysis identifies critical structural vulnerabilities and interdependencies in socio-economic networks.
AI-Guided Capacity Development Dashboard
MOSAIC V uses expert knowledge and the graph databases from Mosaics III and IV to develop an AI decisionsupport system for urban resilience planning.
Constraint-Aware Simulation & RL Policy Engine
Mosaic VI deploys a dynamic simulation engine coupled with reinforcement learning agents to experimentally optimize policy packages under strict budget and constraint limits.