The Master in City & Technology’s academic structure is based on IAAC’s innovative, learn-by-doing and design-through-research methodology which focuses on the development of interdisciplinary skills. During the Master in City & Technology students will have the opportunity to be part of a highly international group, including faculty members, researchers, and lecturers, in which they are encouraged to develop collective decision-making processes and materialize their project ideas.
This blog post is a reflection of the course and lectures given by Andres Colmenares. The course is an intersection of data/digital driven world and realization of the impacts due to it. It gives you an environment, social and cultural consciousness of using the data which emphasizes on knowing the power and importance of the … Read more
Personal Experience When I stepped into this course, I didn’t know what to expect, but what I found was a spark. From the very first class, it felt like stepping into a think tank on technology, a space where nothing was too obvious to question. In an age where we live and breathe technology, this … Read more
The course of Digital Cultures, tutored by Andres Colmenares, took an investigative approach on the relations between the present and the future through the lens of art, journalism, urbanism, technology, human networks and global market. Course was structured in a “non-linear” way, what makes our tutor’s pride, yet consistent in terms of narrating through scale … Read more
“Digital technologies do not exist in isolation; they are deeply embedded within the complex web of social, cultural, and political systems that shape and are shaped by them. By understanding these interconnections, we can begin to reimagine a future where technology serves not only efficiency and growth but also social justice, sustainability, and cultural transformation.” … Read more
The course “Digital Cultures” emphasized a critical perspective on technology and associated dynamics by focusing on humanity and tech-related consciousness rather than technology itself. This post-technological approach reorients the discussion to the interrelationships between society, digital technologies, and culture(s), stressing relationality—an understanding that nothing exists in isolation. This essay addresses key aspects of these themes … Read more
In this term’s Digital Cultures course, we studied the interrelationships between society, culture, and digital technologies, exploring their nexus today and in the futures. The beginning of the course set the context on designing in a polycrisis. From a western perspective, polycrises are difficult to understand as they require people to go beyond a national … Read more
This course examined the interplay of ecological, cultural, and digital transformations amidst a climate emergency, emphasizing the need to prioritize cultural over economic value. It explored how language shapes perceptions of technology, the hidden environmental costs of digital infrastructures, and the biases embedded in AI systems. Addressing the prevalence of misinformation, it highlighted the role … Read more
How we interact with the digital world and with the digital tools that we have today? That is the question I asked myself at the beginning of this course. Digital cultures came to me as an experience to question the use of technology in the design and development of cities and societies, in the time … Read more
Accumulation: A Mirage of Progress Imagine a minimalist workspace—a pristine desk, a single laptop, a small plant to complete the tableau. It’s serene, efficient, and modern. Yet, behind this simplicity lies a sprawling network of data centers consuming vast amounts of energy, hidden from view. This duality invites a deeper reflection: is our pursuit of … Read more
In a world of interconnected crises and rapid technological change, Digital Cultures provides a lens to explore how we interact with technology and respond to global challenges. The Digital Cultures class invited us to reflect on these dynamics, highlighting the importance of rethinking the narratives, metaphors, and values shaping our present and future. Central to … Read more
“ Critical theory is thus not intended to serve as a formula for any particular course of social change; it is not a strategic map for social change; and it is not a ‘how to’-style guidebook for social movements.”Neil Brenner (2009) What is critical urban theory? THE STATEMENT …settlement – rural/urban – city – megalopolis … Read more
This blog post reflects the lectures and exercises given by Professor Mariano Gomez-Luque, supported by readings from Katherine Hayles, Neil Brenner, David Harvey, and Benjamin Bratton. These texts provided a foundation for discussions on human cognition, social structures, ecological dynamics, and planetary computation. The lecture commenced with Katherine Hayles’ exploration of evolving reading practices, contrasting … Read more
“Planetary-scale computation is an example of what may be called, after the great Polish novelist Stanislaw Lem, an ‘epistemological technology.’ The most important social impact of some technologies is not just in what theyallow people to do, but in what they reveal about how the world works.” (Bratton, 3). We are currently experiencing a significant … Read more
“capitalism as a mode of production has necessarily targeted the breaking down of spatial barriers and the acceleration of turnover time as fundamental to its agenda of relentless capital accumulation” (David Harvey.) 01. The Evolution of Urban Reading Urbanization, much like the transition from print to digital media, reflects evolving modes of engagement. The shift … Read more
Quotation ” The urban in the 21st century is no longerconfined by traditional boundaries; itis a dynamic space shaped by digitaltechnologies, capitalism, and planetaryurbanization. Understanding thisevolving landscape requires embracingcomplexity, rethinking governance, andprioritizing justice and sustainability tonavigate the challenges of a globalizedworld. “ The nature of the urban is being redefined in the 21stcentury, shaped by … Read more
SUMMARY 01. An Adapted Urbanism02. Extended Cognitions03. Excavating Futures04. In Defense of the Local “The places whose stories I am trying to tell cannot be understood as geographiesof urbanization. Nor can the politics of space present in these locations be readas urban in the ways in which critical urban theory would lead us to believe.”(Ananya … Read more
