Times Higher Ed reporter Matthew Reisz writes about a new study by MIT research that provides evidence that physical proximity helps drive collaboration. Reisz explains that the “research also confirms the importance of designing academic buildings to encourage cross-disciplinary research.”
Forbes reporter Kevin Murnane writes about how MIT researchers have used a computer vision system to examine how several American cities physically improved or deteriorated over time. Murnane writes that the study “provides important support for nuanced versions of traditional theories about why urban neighborhoods change over time.”
Prof. Eran Ben-Joseph visited the intersection where the BU Bridge meets Commonwealth Avenue in Boston with Gabrielle Emanuel of WGBH to discuss how to improve the area. In order to make the intersection safer for pedestrians and cyclists, Ben-Joseph recommended taking space away from cars, changing the intersection’s surface and adding design elements to make the space feel more urban.
Prof. Ben Olken speaks with BBC News reporter Gareth Mitchell about how the cancellation of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes impacted traffic in Jakarta, Indonesia. Olken and his colleagues found that in addition to traffic substantially increasing in areas that previously had HOV lanes, without the carpool lanes, “traffic gets worse all over the city.”
Los Angeles Times reporter Karen Kaplan writes that a new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that high-occupancy vehicle lanes can reduce traffic. The researchers found that when a carpool policy in Jakarta, Indonesia was canceled, there was a “46% increase in commuting time in the morning and an 87% increase in the evening.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Bordoff writes that MIT researchers have produced a map of the Nairobi bus system using GPS data collected from riders’ mobile phones. “With these networks now mapped, users can access the system more easily and efficiently, and local officials can plan bus and train routes around it,” writes Bordoff.
Jesse Lichtenstein writes for The New York Times about Jonny Sun, a PhD candidate in DUSP, whose humorous Twitter feed, “jomny sun,” has become increasingly popular for offering “comfort, whimsy and an alternative to the rage/panic/schadenfreude/political flame-warring of much online discourse.” “Twitter is often thought of as a shallow, superficial thing,” said Sun, but “there’s a lot of honest pathos and humanity in it.”
In an article for The New York Times about the growing number of autonomous public transportation programs in Europe, Mark Scott highlights Prof. Carlo Ratti’s work testing driverless boats in Amsterdam. In addition to ferrying people and goods, the driverless boats will also be able to “automatically dock with each other, creating on-demand bridges and walkways whenever necessary."
In an article for The Boston Globe, Prof. Charles Fine and Research Affiliate David Gonsalvez examine how to improve the City of Boston’s transportation infrastructure, which could help increase the region’s livability and foster economic growth. Fine and Gonsalvez note that “a city’s mobility architecture can have a huge impact on its economy.”
Researchers in the MIT Senseable City Lab have partnered with the City of Cambridge to gather information about air pollution, infrastructure decay, and traffic, writes Haniya Rae for CityLab. The researchers have outfitted five garbage trucks with “accelerometers, air-quality sensors, infrared cameras, and wireless signal monitors,” in an effort to “collect data on the state of the city.”
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Hannah Furfaro highlights Treepedia, an online tool developed by researchers from MIT’s Senseable City Lab, that analyses tree cover in cities around the world. “Street greenery is a really important part of the urban environment,” explains postdoctoral fellow Xiaojiang Li.
In this interview with Domus, Prof. Carlo Ratti discusses architecture and the digital revolution. Speaking about innovations that will influence the future, Ratti explains that “thanks to digital technology, we can finally build an interior that is not only able to feel, but also to respond, adapting itself in real time to our needs.”
The March 2017 issue of Italian design magazine Domus includes a special section that explores the fringes of architectural innovation in four aspects: design, materials, production, and interaction. Curated by Prof. Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, the section’s articles feature an array of MIT architects, designers, and innovators.
In an article for The Guardian about the importance of trees, Dyani Lewis highlights Treepedia, a project by researchers in MIT’s Senseable City Lab, which maps the number of trees in cities around the world. Prof. Carlo Ratti explains that the project will hopefully “put pressure on government to plant more trees.”
Laura Winkless writes for Forbes about the ways robots are changing life in urban areas. ROBOATs, the fleet of autonomous boats and floating structures developed by Prof. Carlo Ratti, “could offer an additional, low-cost way to once again integrate local canals and rivers into the urban landscape,” said Winkless.