The City Science Summit is hosted by a different network member, in a different location each year.
2024 Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Co-hosted with Andorra Research & Innovation (AR+I)
With the theme “Transformative Communities”, we explored how technology, data, and innovative design can reshape urban environments to better communities.
2023 MIT Media Lab - Cambridge, USA
In collaboration with ClimateTech
The 2023 City Science Summit features two events:
ClimateTech by MIT Technology Review: Alongside its core programming, the City Science Network Directors will deliver nine lightning talks on key technologies for addressing global climate issues locally.
Network Workshops: These bring together international experts in urban science, planning, computer science, policy, social sciences, and rapid urbanization.
2022 MIT Media Lab - Cambridge, USA
In collaboration with the Norman Foster Foundation
HYPER-Local Solutions to GLOBAL Challenges - Cities, as central to solving global warming, public health, and economic development, are responsible for 67-72% of global emissions. The U.N. IPCC emphasizes that urban design will shape future GHG emissions. The City Science Summit promotes a data-driven, bottom-up approach to urban interventions, aiming to reduce emissions and enhance residents' quality of life and economic opportunities. High-performance urban models are now essential.
Two-Part Exploration:
1- Learning from Kendall Square: From Innovation District to Innovation Community
2- Planning for a future Kharkiv and Ukraine
2020 Guadalajara, México
Co-hosted with the University of Guadalajara
The Power of WITHOUT - The 2020 summit theme: The Power of WITHOUT, was a continuation of the theme from the 2019 Hamburg summit Cities WITHOUT and encouraged the speakers and audience to consider this theme specifically in the context of Latin America.
2018 Shanghai, China
Co-hosted with Tongji University College of Design and Innovation
City Science Summit Shanghai 2018, in participation with Tongji University and the MIT Media Lab's City Science group, welcomed an international cohort of mayors, technical experts, high-level CEOs, and academics to discuss global service innovations and model our cities' latest visualization tools.
2021 Taipei, Taiwan
Co-hosted with Taipei Tech
Cities WITH(in) - Hyper-Local Solutions to Global Problems. Network Directors and teams respond to a City Science framework for the Sustainable Development Goals which offers a more detailed and actionable descriptions to the relevant SDGs. In main stage presentations and workshops the network addresses how their research can create local solutions to global problems.
2019 Hamburg, Germany
Co-hosted with HafenCity University
Cities WITHOUT - This City Science Summit explores a future WITHOUT top-down and increasingly obsolete systems. A majority of urban growth is expected to happen in the vast shantytowns of informal settlements, or in cities with almost nonexistent or collapsing infrastructure. What if heavy infrastructure can be replaced WITH lightweight, distributed and ultimately autonomous systems?
2017 Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Co-hosted with the Andorra Innovation Hub
In September 2017 the City Science group launched the first city science summit, held in Andorra, where urban planners, industry leaders, and researchers came together to create a vibrant network of smart cities.