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.


‘Too Hot to Handle’

Miami cannot pay for its affordable housing without additional funding. Since 2020, the market has been scorching hot – with average rent rising at quadruple the pace of median income (Zillow, U.S. Census). New opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels will open budget to spend. But, conflicting federal and state geographies of interest … Read more

Gates in the Street

Looking for a correlation between the presence of closed condominiums in Bogota and Crime Rate “In Bogotá, one third of households live in gated communities. This phenomenon is a misleading application of the model idealized by the post-war urbanized American suburbs where an ideal, safe, happy, perfect life was idealized. A life where mobility prioritizes … Read more

Pykémon: Gotta catch ’em all!

Introduction Pokémon GO, the groundbreaking augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic, has revolutionized the gaming industry since its launch in 2016. With millions of players worldwide, the game transcends traditional gaming boundaries by integrating virtual creatures known as Pokémon into real-world environments. As players explore their surroundings, they encounter Pokémon spawns in various locations, … Read more

Tessellation Urbanism

In the realm of urban theory, navigating through dense academic papers and theoretical frameworks can often feel like traversing uncharted territory. The intricacies of language and abstract concepts can obscure the underlying essence, leaving many grappling for clarity. However, in the age of artificial intelligence, I have embarked on a groundbreaking journey to decode the … Read more

Redefining the Urban

Based on the theoretical frameworks of diverse urban theorists, this project explored multiple dynamics between the metropolis, design, and technology within the context of the Anthropocene epoch and the rise of technology. The following lexicon was developed and graphically illustrated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence, creating images that aim to cause a cognitive effect … Read more

Solving the maze

Mazes have fascinated humans for centuries. Solving them requires decision making based on limited knowledge, and the ability to remember and avoid previous mistakes. The problem of solving a maze from any given position within it, without knowing the location of the exit lends itself well to the iterative logic that is central to this … Read more

Unequal Blooms: Studying socioeconomic realities of Medellín’s “Eternal Spring”

Introduction In recent decades, the importance of urban green spaces and their potential impact on various aspects of urban life has gained significant attention from policymakers, urban planners, and researchers worldwide. The creation and maintenance of green spaces within urban environments have been associated with numerous benefits, including environmental sustainability, physical and mental health improvements, … Read more

‘Black Holes and Revelations’

Black Holes | Black holes accumulate mass with such force that light cannot escape. The invisible hand drove technological innovation resulting in economies of scale to production. This allowed for flexibility in the accumulation of capital and its products, compressing relative time and space, giving way to increasingly accessible and ephemeral consumption of goods, services, … Read more

45 Years of Piracy: Strengthening Global Maritime Security through Non-Military Approaches

Our project embarked on a mission to tackle global shipping piracy without resorting to military action. We faced a major challenge: finding and using publicly available information to craft a proposal that countries and international organizations would support. 1. WHY SHIPPING PIRACY? Within the context of Networked Flows, our directive was to pinpoint potential disruptions … Read more

WILDLIFE PATHWAYS

The “WILDLIFE PATHWAYS” is based on the “GREEN ALLY” project, that was developed at IAAC in the framework of the Master in City & Technology program, during the Internet of Cities Studio directed by Mathilde Marengo, Eduardo Rico, and Iacopo Neri. It provides a data informed approach that helps to integrate ecological needs within the … Read more

Art on air

Introduction Air quality is a problem in many cities around the world, yet it remains largely invisible to the naked eye. This reality struck us deeply when the four of us, having lived in Barcelona, Lagos, Bangkok, and Medellin – our four cities of origin – came together. Amidst our diverse backgrounds and experiences, we … Read more

‘Gotta Catch ’em All’

Co-design & Experience Platform for Public Art as part of Data, Art and the City (5-day workshop led by Leyla Saadi) Adapted from Pokemon-Go, we propose the development of a place-based app that pops the City of Toronto’s public art scene, drives interest and support for local public art and artists, and co-designs future public … Read more

What is creativity?

Creativity is often seen as the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations. But, can we confine its vastness to mere definitions? Furthermore, can the creative output of cities be quantified? A notable attempt to do so was made Inkifi. They composed a data based ranking … Read more

The Future of Public Art

In the ever-evolving field of urban development, “The Future of Public Art” sets out to be a project that reimagines the role and impact of art in public spaces. At its core, the project seeks to quantify the value of public art through a systematic approach, anchored in three fundamental pillars: democracy, contextuality, and insightfulness. … Read more