About

Hi, I'm Liyan Yang. I am a Creative Technologist, Urban Data Researcher, and Architect currently based in Providence, RI.

I am completing my Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). My work is driven by a core mission: leveraging Data-driven Design and AI to give form to "overshadowed voices." I am fascinated by how computational tools—from NLP-based sentiment mapping to computer vision—can reveal the hidden social and political layers of our physical environment that traditional architecture often misses.

My practice is defined by the role of a "technological translator." Whether I am transforming 60,000+ social media comments into a "Sentiment Atlas" of Beijing's core area, or using DPT models to decode urban stayability, I aim to bridge the gap between top-down data and bottom-up lived experiences. My background as a content creator with over a million followers has uniquely shaped my perspective, teaching me to navigate dissonant "language systems" and use technology as a tool for civic advocacy and social intervention.

I believe spatial intelligence should go beyond technical diagnostics to become a medium for empathy. When I'm not coding in Python or analyzing spatial data in ArcGIS, you can find me exploring the preservation of cultural memory in rural villages or dancing with the Brown + RISD Swing Dance community.