Senseable City Lab

Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti makes the case that “the answer to imperfect peer review is better peer review, not political supervision.” Ratti shares: “Replacing scientific judgment with political alignment risks undermining the very engine of discovery. Faced with the risk that a project could be cancelled when the political weather turns, the rational researcher abandons the ambitious idea for the safe one.” 

In a New York Times opinion piece, Prof. Carlo Ratti examines the debate around Ferrari’s first electric vehicle (EV) and the future of EV self-driving technology. “The self-driving technology available in most EVs turns the car into something summoned on demand,” writes Ratti. “Our work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests that autonomous driving could allow cities to operate with a small fraction of today’s vehicles while reducing parking demand by as much as 85 percent.”

In the first installment of his Wallpaper series on ordinary objects that define daily life, Prof. Carlo Ratti describes the origins of the mosquito coil, a spiral shaped insect repellent, and its cultural significance as a ‘zampirone,’ during Italian summers. Named after its 19^th century creator Giovanni Battista Zampironi, the zampirone represents “typically Italian technology: the technology of compromise,” writes Ratti. “We might also say that the zampirone is a typically Italian technology: the technology of compromise. It does not build a barrier, but creates a temporary condition of habitability.”

In an article for The Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti writes about his group’s new research that “reveals that those over the age of 66 have more encounters with a broader cross-section of society than younger, working-age groups.” Ratti adds: “Armed with data that shows retirement expands opportunities for social interaction, cities could be designed to support this more deliberately. Retirement communities could be woven into student neighborhoods, for example, allowing knowledge to circulate across generations. Public spaces could be optimized to encourage everyday mixing.”

In an opinion piece for The Boston Globe, MIT Prof. Carlo Ratti and University of Toronto Prof. Richard Florida explore the “paradox of overtourism.” Ratti and Florida note that: “Tourism accelerates global convergence — the same luxury retailers, hotel chains, and Instagram‑ready design cues that push cities to conform to international expectations. At times, it can even undermine more authentic local businesses, which cannot compete against much larger global competitors. Yet local distinctiveness does not vanish under global pressure; it adapts. The visual signatures that make one place different from another persist beneath the surface layer of brands. That is where efforts to manage tourism’s cultural impact should concentrate.” 

The torch for this year’s Winter Olympics was designed by Prof. Carlo Ratti, reports Laura Baisas for Popular Science. Dubbed “Essential,” the torch clocks in at just under 2.5 pounds, and "boasts a unique internal mechanism that can be seen through a vertical opening along its side. This means that audiences can peek inside and see the burner in action. From a design perspective, that reinforces Ratti’s desire to keep the emphasis on the flame itself and not the object.”

Prof. Carlo Ratti speaks with Reuters reporter Catherine Early about the growing number of initiatives aimed at creating more walkable neighborhoods in urban cities. “Small, tangible changes – like pedestrianizing a block, repainting a square, or hosting a street festival – help people understand what proximity feels like in practice,” Ratti explains. “When people are involved in shaping their environment, skepticism often turns into ownership.” 

Writing for Bloomberg, Prof. Carlo Ratti explores how street configuration and design can help reduce traffic speeds. “In studies we have conducted at our Senseable City Lab, we found that the posted speed limits often have little effect on how fast people drive,” writes Ratti. “Instead, the policies that work involve the design of the street itself.” 

Work from the MIT Senseable City Lab is featured in the new “Urban Natures” exhibition at Harvard University’s Druker Design Gallery. The exhibit spotlights how MIT researchers are measuring tree canopy cover in cities as part of an effort to design cities that are more sustainable and livable. The lab’s Treepedia project “uses digital tools to keep tabs on urban tree canopies the world over,” writes Mark Feeney for The Boston Globe.

Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti makes the case that “in a hotter world, trees should be considered more than decoration. This ancient infrastructure can cool not just our buildings but the cities themselves. And with AI, we can now plant better, with precision urban forestry. In a warming world, the smartest climate tech may be rooted in the ground — and it doesn’t strain the power grid.”

Prof. Carlo Ratti speaks with The Boston Globe columnist Jason Schwartz about how a proposed seven-story office building behind Fenway Park could make the beloved Green Monster wall appear a bit less monstrous. “The wall has always felt monumental not just because of its size, but because it stood against an open sky,” says Ratti. “When the backdrop becomes a building, the view compresses, and the Monster might lose some of its presence.”  

Prof. Carlo Ratti and the WeBuildGroup have developed a proposal to help rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, reports Anna Cooban for CNN. Ratti explained that the blueprint was designed to “produce a safer bridge by widening the channels through which ships can pass, among other measures.” The design will help prevent “the risk of a tragedy such as the one of March 26 happening again,” Ratti explains. 

Financial Times reporters Andrew Hill and Emma Jacobs spotlight how Prof. Carlo Ratti and his colleagues have found that “people are traveling less far from their homes, consistent with more remote working.” The findings demonstrate a more flexible approach to commuting. “That’s good news [for cities], because the problem is not a problem of capacity, it’s a problem of peaks,” Ratti explains.

New York Times reporter Stephen Wallis spotlights Prof. Carlo Ratti’s proposal for the world’s first “farmscraper” in Shenzhen, China, a 51-story building that would be wrapped in a vertical hydroponic farm and could produce enough food annually to feed 40,000 people. “At this critical moment, what we architects do matters more than ever,” Ratti emphasizes. “Every kilowatt-hour of solar power, every unit of zero-carbon housing and every calorie of sustainably sourced vegetables will be multiplied across history.”

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti addresses New York’s congestion pricing plan – an attempt to prevent traffic build up and improve public transportation – and ways Boston can develop a similar and more effective policy. “With congestion pricing, the city and state can combat the climate emergency, the cost of living crisis, and improve quality of life,” says Ratti. “If they don’t take action now, something even worse will come to pass: Boston will find itself outdone by New York.”