IAAC’s Master in City & Technology (1 or 2-year program) is a unique program oriented towards redefining the analysis, planning, and design of twenty-first-century cities and beyond. The program offers expertise in the design of digitally enhanced, ecological and human-centered urban environments by intersecting the disciplines of urbanism and data science. Taking place in Barcelona, the capital of urbanism, the Master in City & Technology is training the professionals that city administrations, governments, industries, and communities need, to transform the urban environment in the era of big data.
Located in the heart of Barcelona, where the history of the city began, the Gòtic Quarter is an iconic neighborhood, we sought to understand its complex dynamics and whether its economic model could truly be called sustainable. From Roman foundations to bustling contemporary streets, the Gòtic Quarter embodies a story of transformation. But behind its … Read more
As part of the Master in City & Technology Introductory Workshop, our team was tasked with studying La Barceloneta, a district characterized by its complex layers of social, economic, architectural, and administrative systems. This project aims to explore these dimensions, highlighting the interactions between tourism and the local community in one of Barcelona’s most iconic … Read more
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Introduction Milan, Northern Italy’s epicenter, confronts economic and environmental challenges rooted in a shift from agriculture to manufacturing. To secure its future, Milan invests in knowledge, tourism, and place-based innovation, relying on revenue from high-income foreigners, students, and the European Union. Strategic efforts to transition to a green economy focus on renewable energy, waste reduction, … Read more
Introduction The contemporary postcard city of Barcelona is supported by a world wide web of hidden urbanization. One of the closest and most prominent hidden pieces of urbanization of Barcelona is found in the Besós Valley. When going on site, we encountered a fragmented urban landscape of logistical infrastructure, urban wasteland, scattered agriculture and haphazard … Read more
Introduction Known for its fashion, history, and culture, Milan also faces a pressing environmental issue: it stands as one of the most polluted cities in the World. The challenge of mitigating air pollution in Milan is complex, as it is shaped by a mix of geographical, meteorological, socio-economic, and cultural factors. From the city’s dense … Read more
Critical urbanists are empowered by theory, constrained by history, and valued by their ability and will to negotiate opportunities. The powers of theory are defined by Brenner and Roy as that of critical imagination and rejection of definition; contexualized as historically urban and increasingly planetary by Harvey, Brenner, and Schmid; and actualized by Kaika and … Read more
“Start the machine” …was the first operation in mind when asked to perform a task with Python script. One of the motivations to learn Python as an urban designer is to organize geospatial data with accuracy and legibility. Before we dive into the digital wilderness, of data trees and data frames, it’s important to note … Read more
Introduction Airbnb is a well know marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their property with people who are looking for accommodations, typically for short stays (Investopedia, 2023). As a powerful tool to connect people to hospitality supply around the world, and provide them quality spaces to stay, it heavily relies on the … Read more
Introduction In today’s data-driven world, the ability to visualize data effectively is a key skill. This blog post introduces the fundamentals of data visualization using Python, a powerhouse in the data science toolkit. We’ll explore essential libraries like GeoPandas, Plotly and Contextily, guiding you through the process of transforming raw data into insightful, visually appealing … Read more
In the bustling streets of Barcelona, a city that effortlessly weaves together history, culture, and modernity, uncovering a comfortable path becomes a journey in itself. Navigating Barcelona isn’t just about finding the quickest route; it’s about immersing oneself in the rhythm of the city and embracing its unique character. Conclusion Barcelona’s enchanting cycling paths, seamlessly … Read more
A rich and ongoing history… Mars exploration missions started in the second half of the 20th century, with the first successful one being NASA’s flyby mission Mariner-Mars in 1964. Since then there has been a steady influx of many other missions throughout the years, from NASA as well as from other space agencies from around … Read more
Mapping America’s Genrescape Promised Land, Chuck Berry’s early representation of modern rock and roll, blurs racialized difference in genre origin, fueling the hybridization of genre categorizes, resulting in America’s current rich music tapestry. MIDI data correlated to synaesthetic representations of color is crystalized and in a dense three-dimensional mesh and place qualities are correlated to … Read more
Innovation is a buzzword these days, and everyone seems to be talking about it. However, truly understanding it is a different ball game. Take the Global Innovation Index by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), for example. It’s a massive framework that pulls data from top-tier organizations worldwide, scoring countries on 100+ indicators. It’s a … Read more
An exercise in visually corelating data. Introduction The Swedish educational system is based on merit. Students have to compete for places by means of their average grades. The competition is fierce, especially in large cities such as Stockholm. This project forms an attempt to showcase a possible correlation between the median acceptance grades of schools … Read more
Finding the greenest bicycle path that connects all the parks in Barcelona The shortest walk connecting all the parks was computed based on the road map. The existing bicycle lane does not connect all the parks in Barcelona. Hence, a second shortest path was created by pulling points from the road map to the bicycle … Read more
In Spain, there is an urban myth, according to which – The country was once so thickly forested that a squirrel could cross the peninsula hopping from tree to tree. -However, this condition has changed throughout the years, both in terms of the natural environment and the existence of squirrels in Spain. The case study … Read more
Introduction to Pollination The project attempts to study and research the possibilities of creating a green, three-dimensional corridor for pollinators in a specific area, the historical city center of Madrid, connecting Madrid’s most prominent green park “el Retiro” in the east to the “Casa de Campo” natural reserve in the west. In particular the proposal … Read more
Located in northeastern Spain, on the shores of the Mediterranean, Barcelona has long been hailed as a European cultural capital. From its thriving art scene to its incredible architecture and world-famous gastronomy, here’s why an art and culture lover will fall head over heels for Barcelona. The intent of the whole project is to identify … Read more
Almost every day, we are confronted with dramatic images of communities and environments incrisis . Flash floods have recently become one of Greece’s most common natural occurrencesafter wildfires. Flooding occurs due to rapid rainfall and heavy storms, from rising river levelsor melting snow.Deforestation, poor soil quality and rapid urbanization significantly contribute to the genesis of … Read more
HANDS OVER BEIRUT Beirut Blast impact assessment visualization Neighborhood: Mar Mikhael (Beirut port)/ Gemmayze – Bashoura – Ashrafieh The Area chosen has received the most impact and visualization of the plot of land where buildings got damaged but on a different scale is relevant to understand the shock wave repartition. To physically be able to … Read more
North region of Red Sea. Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia Concept statement North Red Sea Metropolis (NRSM) is a hypothetical metropolis that combines towns and industrial areas in 4 neighboring countries of the North part of the Red Sea: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Considering the vicinity of Neom city, the Suez sea trade … Read more
A new ecosystem for a global tourism destination Benidorm, Alicante The city of Benidorm is the most renowned mass tourism destination on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It has been recently acknowledged as a sustainable urban development to support the mass-tourism industry; however, Benidorm had received strong criticism during many years, mainly because of its striking … Read more
Athens, Greece “Archipelago is a group of islands set in a sea that simultaneously divides and unites them” The case of the Aegean Archipelago in Greece, which consists of 1.145 islands and islets, for reasons associated with historical and geographical circumstances, represents the promise of a different urbanism. Even in the absolute separation of the … Read more
