PRESS KIT
Press Contact
Sarah Williams
sew@mit.edu
PRESS IMAGES
Please credit Civic Data Design Lab and Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism
EXHIBITION
Find the Atlas of Popular Transport at the Biennale Architettura 2025, curated by Carlo Ratti, in the Arsenale Corderie.
TEAM
Sarah Williams
Director of the Civic Data Design Lab and the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism
Sarah Williams is an Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she is also Director of the Civic Data Design Lab and the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. Williams’ combines her training in computation and design to create communication strategies that expose urban policy issues to broad audiences and create civic change. She calls the process Data Action, which is also the name of her recent book published by MIT Press. Williams is co-founder and developer of Envelope.city, a web-based software product that visualizes and allows users to modify zoning in New York City. Before coming to MIT, Williams was Co-Director of the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Her design work has been widely exhibited including work in the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Venice Biennale, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. Williams has won numerous awards including being named one of the top 25 technology planners and Game Changer by Metropolis Magazine. Check out her latest exhibition, Visualizing NYC 2021, at the Center for Architecture in New York City.
Sarah Williams is an Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she is also Director of the Civic Data Design Lab and the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. Williams’ combines her training in computation and design to create communication strategies that expose urban policy issues to broad audiences and create civic change. She calls the process Data Action, which is also the name of her recent book published by MIT Press. Williams is co-founder and developer of Envelope.city, a web-based software product that visualizes and allows users to modify zoning in New York City. Before coming to MIT, Williams was Co-Director of the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). Her design work has been widely exhibited including work in the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Venice Biennale, and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. Williams has won numerous awards including being named one of the top 25 technology planners and Game Changer by Metropolis Magazine. Check out her latest exhibition, Visualizing NYC 2021, at the Center for Architecture in New York City.
Alberto Meouchi
Alberto Meouchi
Research Associate
Alberto Meouchi is an architect, urban designer, and researcher at the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT, where he leads and collaborates on projects that intersect migration, climate resilience, and urbanization. His work focuses on migration, alternative land tenure systems, ecological processes, and rurban transformations, with recent efforts addressing water access, displacement, and strategic urban development in Latin America.
Alberto has exhibited internationally at the Venice Biennale, the ETSAM in Madrid, and institutions in Mexico, Spain, the US, and China. He is a recipient of the Julian Beinart Research Award, MITdesignX Post-Pandemic World Challenge Grant, JWAFS grant, and the Felix Candela Prize. His experience spans professional architecture studios in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as projects in multiple geographies. He holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Tec de Monterrey and a Master of Science in Architecture Studies in Urbanism from MIT, with an Urban Design Certificate.
Alberto Meouchi is an architect, urban designer, and researcher at the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT, where he leads and collaborates on projects that intersect migration, climate resilience, and urbanization. His work focuses on migration, alternative land tenure systems, ecological processes, and rurban transformations, with recent efforts addressing water access, displacement, and strategic urban development in Latin America.
Alberto has exhibited internationally at the Venice Biennale, the ETSAM in Madrid, and institutions in Mexico, Spain, the US, and China. He is a recipient of the Julian Beinart Research Award, MITdesignX Post-Pandemic World Challenge Grant, JWAFS grant, and the Felix Candela Prize. His experience spans professional architecture studios in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as projects in multiple geographies. He holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Tec de Monterrey and a Master of Science in Architecture Studies in Urbanism from MIT, with an Urban Design Certificate.
Maria Gabriela Carucci
Maria Gabriela Carucci
Research Associate
Maria Gabriela Carucci is an architect, researcher, and designer at the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT, where she explores the intersection of urbanism, social and environmental narratives. Her work examines how landscapes—both natural and constructed—mediate histories of extraction, displacement, and resilience through data storytelling and multimedia design. She has contributed to the LCAU’s 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale proposal, the lab’s 10th Anniversary Exhibition, and the Civic Data Design Lab’s migration-focused research.
Her recent personal projects investigate pigeons as urban informants, barricades as ephemeral architectures, pastoral animals as territorial agents, and volcanic geographies as sites of ecological and political flux. Gaby’s past experience includes work with professional architecture and research studios in the U.S., Venezuela, Panama and Italy. Her work has been exhibited at MIT’s Wiesner Student Gallery and the European Cultural Centre’s Personal Structures Biennial in Venice, and she has served as a guest critic at MIT, RISD, Pratt, Boston University, and Syracuse University.
She holds a Master of Science in Architecture Studies in Urbanism (SMArchS) from MIT and a Bachelor of Architecture and Fine Arts from RISD. Her research has been recognized with the MIT Arthur Rotch Prize, Council for the Arts at MIT Grants, and the RISD Architecture Studies Travel Award. Her writing and work has been featured in Princeton’s Pidgin Press, MIT’s Out of Frame (OOF) Journal and Brown University’s Urban Journal.
Maria Gabriela Carucci is an architect, researcher, and designer at the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) at MIT, where she explores the intersection of urbanism, social and environmental narratives. Her work examines how landscapes—both natural and constructed—mediate histories of extraction, displacement, and resilience through data storytelling and multimedia design. She has contributed to the LCAU’s 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale proposal, the lab’s 10th Anniversary Exhibition, and the Civic Data Design Lab’s migration-focused research.
Her recent personal projects investigate pigeons as urban informants, barricades as ephemeral architectures, pastoral animals as territorial agents, and volcanic geographies as sites of ecological and political flux. Gaby’s past experience includes work with professional architecture and research studios in the U.S., Venezuela, Panama and Italy. Her work has been exhibited at MIT’s Wiesner Student Gallery and the European Cultural Centre’s Personal Structures Biennial in Venice, and she has served as a guest critic at MIT, RISD, Pratt, Boston University, and Syracuse University.
She holds a Master of Science in Architecture Studies in Urbanism (SMArchS) from MIT and a Bachelor of Architecture and Fine Arts from RISD. Her research has been recognized with the MIT Arthur Rotch Prize, Council for the Arts at MIT Grants, and the RISD Architecture Studies Travel Award. Her writing and work has been featured in Princeton’s Pidgin Press, MIT’s Out of Frame (OOF) Journal and Brown University’s Urban Journal.
Berit Lavender
Berit Lavender
Executive Director
Berit comes to LCAU from DESIGNxRI where she most recently served as Co-Director. While there she worked on the back end of their small creative business granting program, handled government funding, and helped to curate and organize DESIGN WEEK RI, Rhode Island’s week long design festival that highlights the small state’s immense design talent. Prior to that she spent 8 years as director of exhibitions and programs at the Center for Architecture in NYC where she oversaw the execution of projects that sought to expose the wider public to design and built environment concerns through topics that included affordable housing, Hip-Hop Architecture, and scaffolding.
Berit received a MA in the History of Decorative Arts, Design, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center, and a BS in Architectural History from Cornell University. She’s excited that she’s had opportunities throughout her career to bring her background in history to contemporary issues in design and the built environment.
Berit comes to LCAU from DESIGNxRI where she most recently served as Co-Director. While there she worked on the back end of their small creative business granting program, handled government funding, and helped to curate and organize DESIGN WEEK RI, Rhode Island’s week long design festival that highlights the small state’s immense design talent. Prior to that she spent 8 years as director of exhibitions and programs at the Center for Architecture in NYC where she oversaw the execution of projects that sought to expose the wider public to design and built environment concerns through topics that included affordable housing, Hip-Hop Architecture, and scaffolding.
Berit received a MA in the History of Decorative Arts, Design, and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center, and a BS in Architectural History from Cornell University. She’s excited that she’s had opportunities throughout her career to bring her background in history to contemporary issues in design and the built environment.
Minwook Kang
Minwook Kang
Research Associate
Min is a geospatial data scientist who excels in converting complex urban data into meaningful insights. His expertise is centered around data collection, exploring the intricacies of urban environments, and creating compelling visual stories that engage the public and drive significant change. His master's thesis introduced an innovative web-based tool for scenario planning designed to assess the growth potential of Philadelphia's bike-sharing system. This work showcased his effective integration of technology with urban planning.
Before joining the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, Min honed his skills in Seoul as a research project manager for three years. He made significant contributions to projects such as ‘an-other Seoul: Potentiality of Urban Infrastructure,’ which influenced architectural design and urban policy to promote a sustainable urban environment. His impactful work was recognized and showcased for a year at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture. Min’s educational background includes a master’s degree in Urban Spatial Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Hongik University. As a licensed architect in South Korea, his dual proficiency in architecture and data science uniquely equips him to address and solve critical challenges in urban policy and research.
Min is a geospatial data scientist who excels in converting complex urban data into meaningful insights. His expertise is centered around data collection, exploring the intricacies of urban environments, and creating compelling visual stories that engage the public and drive significant change. His master's thesis introduced an innovative web-based tool for scenario planning designed to assess the growth potential of Philadelphia's bike-sharing system. This work showcased his effective integration of technology with urban planning.
Before joining the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, Min honed his skills in Seoul as a research project manager for three years. He made significant contributions to projects such as ‘an-other Seoul: Potentiality of Urban Infrastructure,’ which influenced architectural design and urban policy to promote a sustainable urban environment. His impactful work was recognized and showcased for a year at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture. Min’s educational background includes a master’s degree in Urban Spatial Analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Hongik University. As a licensed architect in South Korea, his dual proficiency in architecture and data science uniquely equips him to address and solve critical challenges in urban policy and research.
Ilham Ali
Ilham Ali
Research Consultant
Ilham Ali is a senior consultant and professional in technology, product, and data. She joined the Civic Data Design Lab as a consultant for the Atlas of Popular Transport. Ilham Ali graduated with a M.S. from MIT in Technology & Policy. In 2022, she received the MIT Emerging Leader Award. She is the co-founder of KhartouMap — creating the first public transit map for Khartoum, Sudan. In 2024, Ilham and KhartouMap were awarded the MIT Prize in Open Data. She is also the founder of Zahara for Education. Ilham is a former IBM-er in the Data and AI division. In addition, she has experience working in fintech. Ilham holds a B.S. from the University of Alabama in Environmental Engineering. She is passionate about the arts, equity, running, and traveling.
Ilham Ali is a senior consultant and professional in technology, product, and data. She joined the Civic Data Design Lab as a consultant for the Atlas of Popular Transport. Ilham Ali graduated with a M.S. from MIT in Technology & Policy. In 2022, she received the MIT Emerging Leader Award. She is the co-founder of KhartouMap — creating the first public transit map for Khartoum, Sudan. In 2024, Ilham and KhartouMap were awarded the MIT Prize in Open Data. She is also the founder of Zahara for Education. Ilham is a former IBM-er in the Data and AI division. In addition, she has experience working in fintech. Ilham holds a B.S. from the University of Alabama in Environmental Engineering. She is passionate about the arts, equity, running, and traveling.
Siemond Chan
Siemond Chan
Siemond Chan is a visual journalist in Brooklyn, New York.