I am a PhD candidate in Sociology at the University of Chicago. My research interest centers on patterns, causes, and consequences of human mobility, spatial disadvantage, and human-environment interactions. Integrating urban social theories and emerging big data and computational methods, my recent work has explored activity space exposures, income segregation around the clock, and spatio-temporal patterns of crime. My ongoing projects examine
- Spatial decision-making process and its social context in activity space
- Real-time interactions between the built environment and momentary emotions using GPS, Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), and street view images
- Spatial and network structure of older adults' everyday mobility
- Desegregation through behavioral nudges imformed by agent-environment interactions (human experiments and AI agents)
My research has recently appeared in Social Forces, Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2), Annual Review of Sociology, Social Problems, Journal of Quantitative Criminology (2), Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Cities (2), Crime and Delinquency, and PLOS ONE.
Research
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Teaching
I have extensive experience as a teaching assistant in geospatial analysis, social statistics, and policy analysis. In this role, I deliver lectures, lead discussion sessions, and work closely with students on data projects.
- International Development Policy Lab × 3
- Intro to Spatial Data Science × 2
- Intro to GIS and Spatial Analysis
- Statistical Methods of Research
- Police Reform Policy Lab
I have also written a graduate level guide on How to Analyze GPS/Location Data (published by Sage Research Methods) that teaches students how to access, process, analyze and design studies using location data.
Feedback from students
“Liang is the best TA I have ever met at UChicago. He is highly responsible, supportive, and enlightening. He carried everyone in this course through the difficulty of designing research and coding.”
“Liang was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and responsive. I really appreciate that he made himself available for impromptu office hours and always emailed back good feedback on our data visualizations.”
“Liang was extremely helpful and constructive in providing guidance for our project throughout the course.”
“Liang was the TA for Policy Lab and he was very supportive when the team had issues with data. His presentation on data visualization using GIS, Tableau, Python and R was very helpful for all students.”
“Liang was great. He was really responsive and helpful when we needed extra support, and he provided great feedback and guidance throughout the quarter.”
Race Awareness
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Impact
Vulnerability Mapping in Data Scarce Context
- Constructed and mapped vulnerability index using remote sensing and crowd- sourced big data for underdeveloped countries to inform targeting strategies and policy interventions at the World Bank Group.
Social Worker
- Worked as a social worker at the Nanjing Children's Welfare Institute and a community nursing home (providing end-of-life care).
Contact
Feel free to contact me at liangcai [at] uchicago [dot] edu or schedule a meeting with me through calendly.com.