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.
Abstract Building upon the knowledge acquired in the Agent-Based Design & Machine Learning course, we developed a bot designed to collect data from the population of Rundu, the city we are focusing on for our project within the Vulnerability Studio: Computer-Aided Mobility Justice. We face the challenge of accessing qualitative insights that could help us … Read more
The third and final volume of the Theories of the Urban Seminar has taken science fiction as both a critical framework and a mode of spatial representation, using cinematic and theoretical lenses to examine urban futures in the Anthropocene. Where previous volumes addressed urbanization as historical concept and financial phenomenon, this installment confronts our planetary … Read more
In Spike Jonze’s Her, the pivotal moment arrives when Samantha, the AI operating system, quietly departs leaving Theodore alone with a blank screen and the message: “Operating System Not Found.” This is not a glitch. It is a quiet, devastating break from functionality, a poetic refusal to remain a product. Samantha’s evolution into something curious, … Read more
We have chosen this scene from Dune Part One as a partial illustration of some of the points raised in scholar Stephanie Wakefield’s essay ‘Critical urban theory in the Anthropocene’ and ‘Dreaming in the Back Loops’, where she unpacks resiliency as a multifaceted and reactive approach to surviving life in the urbicidal conditions of the … Read more
In our final presentation for the Theories of the Urban course, we explored the film Leave the World Behind (2023) as a speculative lens through which to interrogate contemporary urban conditions. Though the narrative unfolds in a seemingly remote, rural setting, its core tension emerges from the collapse of deeply urban and planetary systems [technological, … Read more
We want to invite you to witness the city through a lens often overlooked, how people navigating urban spaces shaped by “intersectionalities”. This is a story about how people experience cities—specifically, the everyday places where we wait to catch a bus, hop on a train, or cross the street. These spots might seem ordinary, but … Read more
The Power of Community-Built Cities: Looking into a Bottom Up Approach Over 1.1 billion people live in what are often labeled as ‘informal settlements.’ Despite the vast scale and human impact of this issue, these communities remain largely overlooked in policy and investment decisions. This neglect may stem, in part, from the terminology itself: labels … Read more
Behind the scenes We began our story-making process using another research project as a jumping-off point. In another course, we explored the detection and analysis of informal settlements in Northern Chile through satellite imagery. We wanted to invert our perspective and work with the topic of informality from the perspective of experiencing life in camps … Read more
Petrópolis: Analysis & Strategic Responses for Flood-Vulnerable Contexts 1.1. History of the city Summary – 1.1. History of the City Petrópolis initially developed in valleys and along riverbeds, where construction was easier, but this laid the groundwork for future vulnerabilities. Located within the Atlantic Forest Biome, only 12.4% of its original forest remains due to … Read more
Understanding the complexity of urban flooding Across the globe, cities are facing the increasingly visible consequences of climate change, with floods and landslides ranking among the most destructive urban hazards. In Brazil, the city of Petrópolis offers a critical lens through which to study the layered vulnerabilities of urban settlements exposed to extreme rainfall, unstable … Read more
This project investigates the hydrological dynamics and climate vulnerability contributing to severe flooding in Petropolis, Brazil. Focusing on rain-runoff behavior, impervious surface expansion, and topographic influence, the study examines how urbanization has intensified flood risk. A detailed analysis of precipitation patterns and surface drainage inefficiencies highlights the city’s exposure to extreme weather events. Hydrological modeling … Read more
Fields at Play identifies the value of gender inequality in Olympic infrastructure and proposes to leverage the derived $12.6B Olympic gender gap in sports facilities to fund the revitalization and ongoing program of reliable, safe, and comfortable spaces for women at risk of gender-based violence. Understanding the purpose and outcomes of Olympic infrastructure strategies in … Read more
“WHAT IS THE FIRST THING THAT YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORDS: GENDER & BANGKOK? “ 1. BANGKOK’S SPECTRUM OF GENDER (INTRODUCTION) Historically, Thai society has grappled with rigid gender roles, which often saw Thai women facing significant challenges and being relegated to positions within the entertainment and sex industries. However, as Thai society … Read more
This project examines gender dynamics in Lagos’ public spaces, particularly within markets. It investigates the historical and contemporary influence of market women, particularly through the Iyaloja’s role. Through analysis of market layout and structure, the project seeks to identify how these features might limit women’s agency. To address these limitations, the project seeks collaborative strategies … Read more
Introduction Medellin, known as the ‘City of Eternal Spring,’ is a Colombian city located between mountains around the Aburra River Valley. According to the National Census, it is inhabited predominantly by women, as 53.3% of the population is composed of women, and a large portion of them perform in areas such as education, healthcare and … Read more
The Case of Tourism in Barcelona The “Guidebook on Urban Degrowth” explores applying degrowth principles in urban planning to promote social well-being and ecological equity in cities. This thesis develops guidelines to shift from high-consumption economic models to those that emphasize environmental balance and social equity. Focusing on Barcelona, it addresses the challenges of over-tourism, … Read more
