The 2025-2026 Keating Visiting Architect Lecture by Uma Bhandaram
As the 2025-2026 Keating Visiting Architect, Uma Bhandaram will deliver a public lecture titled From Data to Decisions: The Role of Spatial Governance at NYC Parks at Barnard College on April 14, 2026.
Description: Cities are increasingly shaped by data. What are the opportunities and limitations to this approach? And how do we adapt as technologies and urban challenges evolve? Using case studies from NYC Parks, this lecture explores the role of spatial governance and data-driven thinking in informing the design and management of urban space.
Uma Bhandaram is a committed public servant with a strong interest in the intersection of urban planning, the built environment, and nature. As Chief of Data & Operational Strategy for the Environment and Planning division at the New York City Parks Department, she applies a systems-based, data-driven approach to shape the city’s operations, planning, and management of its urban forest and natural resources. Her work provides the strategic and analytical foundation for actions that support the development and maintenance of sustainable and resilient green spaces across New York City.
Deeply passionate about civic engagement at the local level, Uma is a member of her community board, where she focuses on addressing and advocating for local environmental, sanitation, and transportation issues. Uma holds dual bachelor’s degrees from UCLA and a Master of Environmental Science degree from the Yale School of the Environment (YSE).
Lecture Date and Time: 6:00-7:30 PM, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Reception to follow from 7:30-8:30 PM.
Registration: Advance registration is required for all attendees. Please register before 12 PM, April 13, 2026.
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About Barnard and Columbia Architecture
The Barnard Architecture Department is the home of undergraduate architecture at Columbia University. Students study with renowned faculty who are dedicated to the unique opportunities of teaching architecture within the liberal arts while they are pursuing research and creative practices of extraordinary breadth and depth. Alumni of our Department are leaders in the architecture profession, in academia, in related fields, and sometimes in fields very different from their undergraduate major. They are designers and activists using their unique education and skills to actively engage in shaping the world and imagining new futures.
Acknowledgements:
This program is organized by the Barnard Architecture Department and has been made possible through the generous funding of the Keating Family.