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.
Informal settlements have become a pressing issue across Latin America, reflecting deep-rooted socioeconomic inequalities and rapid urbanization. In 2014, approximately one-quarter of the urban population in Latin American cities lived in informal housing. By 2017, this number had increased to nearly one-third, and the trend continues to rise. Each country’s informal settlements have unique names … Read more
January brought a challenging start for California, as a series of devastating wildfires swept through the state, endangering lives, destroying homes, and reshaping entire communities. These fires were not only among the most destructive in California’s history but also ranked among the costliest ever recorded in the United States. The scale of destruction was unprecedented, … Read more
Noise is a major public health concern in urban areas, contributing to various psychological and physical issues while diminishing overall quality of life. At the same time, no one wants a completely silent city—urban soundscapes shape a city’s unique identity, reflect economic activity, and foster vibrant social life. How can an app help residents navigate … Read more
Architecture as a means of social segregation “capital materializes, to a large extent, through urban construction, the establishment of social relations in the city, the organization of space in the city, among others” (Harvey 2020, 23) According to Charles Jencks, the death of the modern architecture dated on July 15, 1972 at 3:32 p.m, when … Read more
Barcelona, like many modern cities, experiences the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where built-up areas retain more heat than surrounding natural landscapes. This interactive map visualizes temperature variations across the city, highlighting areas most affected by heat buildup. 🛰️ What This Map Shows: 📍 Heat Hotspots – Areas with high surface temperatures due to dense construction and limited … Read more
Walking through Ciutat Vella, the heart of Barcelona, one can’t help but notice the overflowing bins, the persistent smell of garbage, and the discarded trash left along the streets. Despite the city’s continuous efforts to keep public spaces clean, waste management remains a pressing issue, particularly in the historic district where narrow streets and high … Read more
CRITICAL QUESTION: “How can urban planning and architectureactively resist the dominance ofspeculative capital, and instead promoteequitable, community-driven developmentthat prioritizes social cohesion and publiclife over the financialization of space?“ ——————————————————- The city is not just a physical construct of streets and buildings; it functions as a living entity, constantly shifting, shaped by the flows of CAPITAL … Read more
Sentir l’Espai Urbà Cities communicate with us through different ways: sound, image, smells, textures, materials, weather, among others. But how do we perceive all these layers? How do we feel about it? What role does urban design play in this exchange? How do we feel the city? Every day, we are immersed in urban surroundings … Read more
Veïns is a social app created in order to create neighborhood connectivity and social well being centered to focus on people feeling excluded from the community or alone. Context Impact of social interaction and health risks related to loneliness Tasked with tackling a public health issue in Barcelona via a design thinking, double-diamond methodology, we … Read more
From neoliberal detachment to anti anti-utopian hope, this essay explored how film and theory diagnose urban crises, exposing expulsions, fetishism, and splintering —while glimpsing alternative futures through resistance, cybernetics, and speculative imagination.
