Research on the urban form.

[lux]

Just read a fantastic article on the Economist web site about the value of data over ideology in urban planning. I hope Edmonton gets up to speed on this.
http://www.economist.com/node/21557313

City planners, too, may have to rethink their work. If cities indeed develop organically along certain lines, pushing them onto another track may be futile. Instead of trying to limit growth, planners should “make room”, says Mr Angel: be realistic when projecting urban land needs, set generous metropolitan limits, protect some open space and provide an arterial grid of roads. This is pretty much what New York did in the early 18th century. It is what some Chinese cities are doing now.

[The_Cat]

Edmonton has made more online data available to users. Also, data analysis and data mining are increasing in popularity.