Esra is an Associate Professor of Urban Analytics at the University of Zurich and an Associate Professor at UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA).

Her research group focuses on developing computational methods to analyse urban mobility, land use, housing, and demographic change, with a particular emphasis on their connections to social, environmental, and health inequalities. Ongoing research is driven by four interrelated themes that capture the major drivers and key challenges shaping cities today: urban mobility, urban inequalities, demographic change, and technological change.

The overall goal is to combine data-driven and theory-informed approaches to:

• Measure and track urban change — quantifying city - and population-level dynamics at fine spatial and temporal scales using emerging large-scale digital and traditional data sources.
• Model and forecast urban systems — integrating agent-based models, spatial interaction models, and deep learning to support scenario testing, policy evaluation, and planning.
• Understand human behaviour and decision-making — studying individual and household choices in response to new technologies and social, economic, and environmental transitions, using empirical data to inform theory and policy.

More information on the Urban Analytics Group at the University of Zurich is available here