Antonio Vázquez Brust
Urban Informatics, MS
Graduated in 2017
Antonio Vázquez Brust, or Tony, is an Argentinean urban planner and information technologist who spent the first ten years of his professional career designing and maintaining large-scale computer systems. After completing his Master of Science in Urban Informatics in May 2017 with a perfect GPA of 4.0, Tony returned to Argentina to launch a new Data Lab at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella’s School of Government, and to work as an urban data science consultant for the think tank CIPPEC. While at Northeastern, Tony collaborated with the Boston Area Research Initiative, conducting original research at the intersection of urban science and public policy. He also interned at The American City Coalition.
Tony received an Argentine Presidential Fellowship in Science and Technology scholarship to enroll in urban informatics programs, and ultimately chose NU.
“I felt that here I would get the chance to hone a comprehensive set of skills, with a focus on research and policy impact...I’m very happy with that decision.”
Tony took PPUA 5262 Big Data for Cities and learned programming skills, applied statistical analysis, data visualization, and dabbled with GIS.
In his second semester, Tony joined BARI, where he used big data to identify indicators of gentrification, track them across time, and assess their impact.
Tony completed an internship at The American City Coalition, a nonprofit organization focused on neighborhood revitalization.
Tony received the Barry Bluestone “Think and Do” Award and the Outstanding Academic Performance Award, both from the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs.
For his capstone, Tony worked other grad students to assess the ability of cities to manage federal grant funding for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
After graduation, Tony returned to his hometown, Buenos Aires, to launch a new Data Lab at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella’s School of Government.
He teaches courses in the Master of Urban Economics Program at Universidad Di Tella, as well as an analytics class for urban planners at the University of Buenos Aires.
Tony also consults for the Argentine government and researches the spatial spread of endemic diseases using big data analysis.
“Technology, by definition, is a tool to transform reality. We don’t need to be passive while it’s being wielded. Let’s make sure it’s always used to empower, and not to curtail our right to the city and our right to make and re-make our cities and ourselves.”
