DE•SYN lab focuses on problem-mapping methods and tools to enhance collaboration across disciplines for decision support toward eco-sustainability:

Half of the world's population lives in cities. By 2050 that percentage is predicted to rise to 75% (UN-Habitat, quoted in the Siemens Mega-cities Challenges report, 2008). So reducing the carbon footprint of cities will become increasingly important.

To meet the growing challenges of complex urban environments, we need better, more integrated tools and methods that are interoperable across a range of information technology, science, business, and government policy disciplines. The tools needed to support complex decision-making across disciplines have not yet been built, while tools that do exist are not well integrated. There is a need for new tools and practices. Digital technologies provide us with richer ways to visualize, manage and design our cities, while also providing a platform for next generation "best practice" in integrated planning. New digital measurement techniques, geo-spatial information systems, 3D interactive visualization, electronic collaborative techniques, sensor networks, security systems, and predictive models together can provide the tools needed to manage and improve our large and complex urban areas with smart infrastructure. Eventually it should be possible to model a city in its regional context in order to measure the performance of an entire urban system and its environmental impact. This modeling capacity will be the first step toward using integrated models to explore and generate future alternatives, prototyping cities and entire construction projects digitally.

Coordinated construction of comprehensive digital models of cities, urban clusters, and cities networked in their global context could cause a revolution in planning "best practices" and urban growth management that can address the problems in our urban areas and the impact of urban development on the eco-sustainability of our planet. Problems of excessive energy use, over-burdened infrastructure and declining efficiency are urgent (Siemens).  Even piecemeal, digital technology has demonstrated potential to meet the challenge:
•   Adaptive traffic systems cut trip times by 20% (Siemens/ Tyra).
•   Building information models reduced construction mistakes by 40% (Stanford).
•   Pervasive use of broadband could cut U.S. greenhouse emissions by 1 billion tons over 10 years (Cisco).
• Informed "green" urban planning could reduce US household energy consumption by 75% (Harvard).
Mega-cities are struggling to be economically competitive, ecologically sustainable, and to deal with fundamental scaling issues. Current planning processes do not provide adequate decision support and there is much scope for adding intelligence to how we manage our built environment and supporting infrastructure. Integration of current piecemeal research, technology and skills is needed to address this grand challenge, providing opportunities for government, industry and researchers.