Eric Robsky Huntley

Eric Robsky Huntley is a Lecturer in Urban Science and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT where they maintain affiliations with the Data + Feminism Lab and the Healthy Neighborhoods Study. They also serve as a Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and as the chair of the Digital Geographies Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers.

Robsky Huntley is a GIScientist, geographer, and designer whose work centers on what they call "mapping up," a theory of data science practice that ties forms of oppression and domination to the institutional arrangements and actors that perpetuate them (e.g., mining site to mineral developer, eviction to landlord). They work alongside movements for social justice, in particular, movements for mineral sovereignty in Canada and housing justice in Boston. Their current research focuses on 1) identifying shared ownership of property-owning LLCs in Massachusetts using spatial network analysis; 2) building interactive tools and visualizations to make this information accessible to tenants, activists, and advocates; and 3) analyzing the role of attorneys who represent landlords in creating housing instability. Their scholarly work has appeared in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Thresholds, the American Journal of Epidemiology, and multiple edited collections; it has been supported the Urban Studies Foundation, the Conservation Law Foundation, the Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab, and the Antipode Foundation.

The critical theoretical approach that informs Robsky Huntley's research is also central to their pedagogy, for which they have received multiple teaching awards (most recently an Excellence in Teaching Award from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, as well as a Teaching with Digital Technologies Award from MIT’s Office of Open Learning). They teach courses centered on GIS, spatial database design, spatial statistics, mapping and cartography, and the history of urban technology. They also direct the MIT DUSP VIA Learning Lab, which develops resources for critical and contextual pedagogy in mapping, design, and data science for city planners. Outside of DUSP, they serve as a member of the City of Somerville's Anti-Displacement Task Force, and as a research affiliate of Beyond Extraction.

They hold a PhD in Geography and a Graduate Certificate in Social Theory from the University of Kentucky, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Technology, with a concentration in Media Arts and Engineering.