Cities

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti and Robert Muggah of the SecDev Group explore the pushback against 15-minute cities and how the concept behind creating more accessible neighborhoods could “facilitate the meaningful and sustained in-person connections that the internet cannot.” They note that "the concept could be the solution to bridging our divides. By creating more open, integrated, and healthy neighborhoods, it is possible to restore the in-person connections that are an antidote to polarization.”

Postdoctoral fellow Timur Abbiasov speaks with Guardian reporter Henry Grabar about his research examining the relationship in neighborhoods between local errands and the geography of amenities. Abbiasov and his colleagues found that “the more commerce, parks and services in a neighborhood, the more people travelled locally, whether in the country’s most walkable cities or its least.”

Bloomberg reporter Akshat Rathi spotlights Sublime Systems, an MIT startup developing new technology to produce low-carbon cement. “Sublime’s solution involves splitting the cement-making process into two steps,” explains Rathi. “The first step is to make calcium—the key element in limestone—in a form that’s ready to chemically react with silicon—the key element in sand. Sublime reduces energy use and carbon emissions in this step by avoiding limestone and using electricity, rather than coal-fired heat.”

Writing for the Daily News, Prof. Carlo Ratti and Harvard Prof. Edward Glaeser highlight a new report by the “New” New York Panel aimed at reimagining New York City. “This is the moment to embrace the ‘New’ New York Panel’s three-pronged approach of reducing the unnecessary regulations that limit entrepreneurship, investing in New York’s children and creating exciting, safe, walkable streetscapes,” Ratti and Glaeser write.

Researchers from MIT and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions have been developing an electric autonomous trash boat, reports Sarah Holder for Bloomberg. The boats “could reduce noise, pollution, and congestion, thus improving the quality of Amsterdam’s historic cityscape.”

Hasier Larrea MS ’15 - CEO of Ori, a company that creates expandable tiny apartments - writes for Newsweek about his journey and inspiration for developing expandable housing options. Larrea writes that Ori is focused on creating, “expandable urban apartments that are more flexible, functional, affordable and sustainable—in short, living spaces that can suit the amazing diversity of people who want to live in the world's most incredible cities.”

Writing for Bloomberg News, Prof. Carlo Ratti and Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute make the case that cities should use venture capital strategies to manage risk and spur innovation. “To do so, local governments need to change their approach to procurement,” they write. “If administrators pay more close attention to what venture capital can teach them, then the city — one of the first, greatest ventures in human history — will be able to continue to invest in a shared, prosperous tomorrow.”

The Emerald Tutu, a climate resiliency project in Boston led by Gabriel Cira ’08, is developing a system of floating wetlands designed to reduce coastal flooding by knocking down waves, reports Hannah Chanatry for WBUR. The Emerald Tutu was the winning project at the 2018 MIT Climate Changed Ideas competition. “Fundamentally, it’s like a giant sponge that fits around urban coastlines like we have here in Boston,” said Cira. “It buffers those coastlines from the intense effects of coastal storms.”

Professor Carlo Ratti participated in this year’s Manifesta 14 in Kosovo, where “artists show how they want to reconquer their city from traffic and big capital,” reports Sandra Smallenburg for NRC. “Together with students from the University of Pristina, he reclaimed the outdoor space by simply painting it with yellow paint and delimiting it with garden furniture,” said Smallenburg.

Professor Carlo Ratti and his colleagues developed the Urban Vision and Urban Program for Manifesta 14, a nomadic European biennale in Kosovo, which “proposes a new methodology for reclaiming public space in the city,” writes Maria-Cristina Florian for ArchDaily. “Cities around the world are currently going through an extraordinary time marked by crises but also potential for a renaissance,” said Ratti.

Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti explores how coordination between ride-hailing services can benefit cities by reducing traffic and carbon emissions. “Imagine a world in which, instead of wavering between Uber, Lyft or a regular taxi, we could open a single app that figures out which service is closest and most affordable,” writes Ratti. 

Writing for The Hill, Prof. Jinhua Zhao explores how many people, when provided the opportunity to work remotely, work from a location other than their home. “If employers provide the necessary flexibility to their staff, and policymakers engage in smart land use and transportation planning for third-place trips,” writes Zhao, “the result could be a rare win-win-win for workers, businesses, and the public good.”

Assaf Biderman ‘05, associate director of the MIT SENSEable City Lab, discusses his startup Superpedestrian, a transportation robotics company that has developed electric scooters available in over 60 cities across the world.  “I think we hit the holy grail of micromobility, which is detecting when you’re on the sidewalk every time and stopping or slowing the vehicle,” said Biderman.

Bloomberg reporter Chris Anstey spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that finds that during the Covid-19 pandemic people have been taking cues from their neighbors as to whether it is safe to resume social activities like dining in restaurants. “We felt that in [some] uncertain times, such information might be particularly valuable,” said Prof. Siqi Zheng. “If others think it’s safe to go out, then maybe I should feel safe. To be sure, we were also prepared for the opposite reaction, that people would hunker down and try to avoid crowds.”

A study by MIT and the National League of Cities has attempted to identify the qualities of a “climate destination” where the effects of climate change are expected to be easier to manage, reports Kate Yoder for Wired. “With as many as 143 million people worldwide expected to be on the move because of climate change by 2050, would-be havens are sure to face new challenges,” writes Yoder. “But advance planning can alleviate the stress on cities as well as on their newcomers.”