On November 30, 2011, over 50 professors and students from RISD, MIT, and Harvard met to hear about Dr. Annette Kim’s latest research project and to discuss how to bring about greater synergies between the visual design and social science research ends of urban planning. SLAB: sidewalk laboratory is her research project that employs critical cartography to unveil greater knowledge about this important public space and to propose changes in planning paradigms. The case presented focuses on Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s rich sidewalk life and advocates for street vendors.

Annette M. Kim is associate professor of international development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She has a masters degree in visual studies and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley.