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.
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
Problem statement: Understand how different media platforms and news (Reddit for now) perceive and portray cities, shaping their public image. Results
Creating a Visual Medium for the Visualization of Urban Data Using Cesium in Unity Engine for Geospatial VisualizationCesium for Unity bridges 3D geospatial data with Unity’s real-time development environment, enabling developers to create immersive, real-world simulations and applications. By integrating high-accuracy global datasets, 3D Tiles, and dynamic data feeds, it provides a robust framework for … Read more
The Landscape of Risk India has witnessed 3782 major landslides between 2015–2022.Regions like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and the North-East are especially vulnerable. Landslides disrupt cities, block roads, damage homes — and in some cases, like Wayanad in 2024, result in loss of lives and millions in damages. The Research Question How can remote sensing … Read more
Overview Visualizing Visibility of Women+ Safety is a research initiative aimed at evaluating how the design of public spaces influences perceptions of safety for women+ in India, particularly in Delhi. The central question driving this study is: “How can we assess the current paradigms of urban design to better understand and improve perceptions of safety … Read more
This blog post presents a comparative study of spatial strategies in contemporary housing, using the concept of ‘islandisation’ as a critical lens. Islandisation, defined as a process of increasing detachment from interconnected networks, is explored across a range of case studies Introduction “The tension between isolation as systemic control versus isolation as protective communing raises … Read more
Diving deeper into building a reliable rating algorithm The Importance & Significance of the F&B establishments in the City Food and Beverage (F&B) service outlets are significant indicators of urban progress as they reflect evolving consumer preferences, economic vitality, and the integration of social spaces within urban landscapes. These establishments act as hubs for community … Read more
Context Bogota is the capital of Colombia. Both the perception of unsafety of its inhabitants as well as the amount of urban crime have been rising over the last years, with over 70% of the population feeling unsafe, and more than 120 thousand theft victims in 2023. The local government response to this has mainly … Read more
Climate Hope, Regenerative Agriculture and Soil Restoration Up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded Poor land management and conventional agricultural practices have degraded soils, reducing their ability to store carbon and absorb water, accelerating climate change and threatening food systems. Soils store 3x more carbon than the atmosphere, but 50-70% of their natural … Read more
As part of a collaborative exploration into creative automation and human-AI interaction, our team developed an AI-powered weather assistant that integrates live data, generative visuals, and contextual language processing into a single, responsive system. The assistant operates via a Telegram bot and delivers three core outputs: current weather information, clothing recommendations, and an AI-generated image … Read more
When we locate Sants within Barcelona, it appears to be on the city’s edge. However, when considering the metropolitan area as a whole, Sants is actually closer to the center. Historically, Sants was one of the towns surrounding Barcelona until its annexation in 1897. Its agricultural and industrial roots contribute to a unique neighborhood identity—one … Read more
Introduction: Understanding Besòs Beyond the Surface The El Besòs i el Maresme area in Barcelona carries a complex history—one shaped by migration, exclusion, and resilience. Often perceived through the lenses of insecurity and economic struggle, the neighborhood is in fact a vibrant intersection of identities, cultures, and urban transformations. Layers of Besòs is a research-driven … Read more
A speculative approach to Design through data, literature, and participatory AI in Sant Antoni Our urban issue: The Lack of Narrative-Driven Urban Design in a Data-Driven City Contemporary urban design increasingly relies on AI and big data, often sidelining human stories, cultural narratives, and historical context in shaping urban spaces. While data-driven design optimizes efficiency, … Read more
