# 👋 Hi, I'm Mai Nguyen (also known as Nguyễn Thị Mai, Mai Thi Nguyen, or Nguyen Thi Mai) 🎓 MIT trained Urban Planner | Engineer | Storyteller | Entrepreneur 🌱 Passionate about building smarter, more inclusive cities through technology, design, and systems thinking 🚀 Currently building [Laca City](https://laca.city) – a real time parking soluiton built for future autonomous vehicles --- ## 🧠 About Me I'm an urban technologist and planner, trained at the **Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)** with a focus on sustainable mobility and city innovation. My work blends engineering, design, data, and policy to create impactful urban solutions. 🔍 At **MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)**, I explored how cities can harness emerging technologies—like AI and real-time data—for climate resilience and equity. My research and projects often lie at the intersection of: - 🚗 **Smart mobility** & autonomous vehicle infrastructure - 🏙️ **Urban analytics** & built environment data modeling - 💡 **Public technology** & participatory design - 🌏 **Urbanization & climate adaptation** - Connecting American Planners and Vietnamese planners via **American planning association (APA)** and VUPDA --- ## 🛠️ Skills & Tools - **Languages**: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python - **Domains**: Urban informatics, Smart parking systems, Civic design, AI for cities, urban resilience, autonomous mobility - **Certificate**: **CFA Sustainable Investing**, LEED AP, TCFD --- ## 🚀 Selected Projects ### 🅿️ [Laca City](https://laca.city) AI-powered parking discovery for cities. Built for human and autonomous drivers. Tech: Python, Mapbox, Firebase, IoT-ready architecture ### 📰 SmartF Co-founder of a digital journalism platform that empowers financial literacy and market transparency in Vietnam. ### 🌐 [Personal Portfolio](https://mai-nn.com) Summary of my work. --- ## ✍️ Writing & Research I write about the future of cities, smart mobility, and Southeast Asia’s urban transformations, sustainable finance, urban finance, urban economics, drawing from my experience at **MIT DUSP**, World Bank Group (**IFC**), and various city agencies. 📝 Coming soon: MIT-related urban insights and data stories 🔗 Follow my work on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mai12/) or [My digital footprint](https://mai-nn.com/press.html) or My profile at **MIT DUSP** (https://dusp.mit.edu/spurs-fellows/mai-thi-nguyen) --- ## 📫 Let’s Connect - 🌐 [Website](https://mai-nn.com) - 🌐 [Gallery] (https://maikomu12.wixsite.com/mai-nguyen/gallery) - 💼 [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mai12/) - 🎧 [Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/4CuFpeZCwZW0PLlLQl6f01?si=cc19be0c3ac24683) - 📷 Instagram / Twitter *(optional)* --- > “Cities are not problems to be solved. They're conversations to be joined.” – Paraphrasing MIT DUSP’s ethos