City Science Summit

The City Science Summit - Hyper-LOCAL Solutions to GLOBAL Challenges brings together international collaborators and thought leaders in the fields of urban science, planning, computer science, policy and decision making, social sciences and rapid urbanization. The event will highlight research from the MIT City Science team, the City Science Network, and the Norman Foster Foundation with the aim to enable more livable, equitable and resilient communities.

Teams will present a data-driven model for cities that could limit emissions to 2 tons per person while improving the quality of life and economic opportunities for residents. If taken to scale globally, these local interventions could largely solve global warming. As part of this line of research, the team will offer scenarios to dramatically reduce emissions to the carbon-budget while improving the livability and economic potential of the area. This research examines conventional “green” solutions, net-zero commuting and amenities, hyper-efficient housing and hybrid work, local production of resources and zero-carbon, high-density distributed energy.

We will also share a pilot master plan for reconstruction and regeneration applicable to cities nationally in Ukraine and worldwide. Kharkiv, heavily damaged by the war with Russia, creates a compelling opportunity to create a new vision for cities in the future, bringing together the best of the past with powerful new technology and design concepts. Deploying a revised version of the data-driven, evidence-based process developed for Kendall Square, we will present concepts for a community unconstrained by legacy infrastructure including:  low-carbon communities,  livability and public health, equity, and a Science Community framework. 

In addition, we will host workshops from our City Science Network collaborators with research from: The University of Guadalajara, Ryerson University in Toronto, Andorra Research and Innovation, HafenCity University in Hamburg, Taipei Tech, Tongji University in Shanghai, and The Urban Planning Institute in Ho Chi Minh City. Topics include: rapid urbanization, infrastructure in informality, zero-carbon cities, data-enabled decision making, decentralized autonomous organizations for cities, mobility trends and modeling, innovation in a biosphere, and enabling innovation communities.

Videos are now online:

Learning from Kendall Square: From Innovation District to Innovation Community

Featuring Kent Larson, Dava Newman, Senator Ed Markey, Lord Norman Foster, Luis Alonso, Ronan Doorley, Maitane Iruretagoyena, Naroa Coretti, Alex Berke, and Andres Rico.