MIT Senseable City Lab
Encyclopedia
The MIT Senseable City Laboratory aims to investigate and anticipate how digital technologies are changing the way people live and their implications at the urban scale. Director Carlo Ratti
founded the Senseable City Lab in 2004 within the City Design and Development group at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, as well as in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab
. The Lab's mission states that it seeks to creatively intervene and investigate the interface between people, technologies and the city. Recent projects include "The Copenhagen Wheel" which debuted at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
, "Trash_Track" shown at the Architectural League of New York
and the Seattle Public Library
, "New York Talk Exchange" featured in the MoMA The Museum of Modern Art
, and http://senseable.mit.edu/realtimerome/Real Time Rome
] included in the 2006 Venice Biennale of Architecture
.
The Lab's work draws on diverse fields such as urban planning, architecture, design, engineering, computer science, natural science and economics to capture the multi-disciplinary nature of urban problems and deliver research and applications that empower citizens to make choices that result in a more liveable urban condition. Among the Lab's partners are a group of forward-thinking corporations, including AT&T
, General Electric
, Audi
, ENEL
, SNCF
as well as world class cities such as Copenhagen
, London
, Singapore
, Seattle, and Florence
. At present, 31 researchers are working on activities sponsored by these industrial and municipal partners.
In 2010 the Lab will open a new research center in Singapore as part of a $35 million MIT-led initiative on the Future of Urban Mobility.
represented the Lab as a delegate to the World Economic Forum
in Davos. In 2011, he presented at TED
in Longbeach.
Carlo Ratti
Carlo F. Ratti is an Italian architect and engineer who practices in Torino, Italy, and he is the Associate Professor of Practice and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, where he directs the MIT Senseable City Lab...
founded the Senseable City Lab in 2004 within the City Design and Development group at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, as well as in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
. The Lab's mission states that it seeks to creatively intervene and investigate the interface between people, technologies and the city. Recent projects include "The Copenhagen Wheel" which debuted at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 7 December and 18 December. The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate...
, "Trash_Track" shown at the Architectural League of New York
Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
and the Seattle Public Library
Seattle Public Library
The Seattle Public Library is the public library system serving Seattle, Washington, USA. It was officially established by the city in 1890, though there had been efforts to start a Seattle library as early as 1868. There are 26 branches in the system, most of them named after the neighborhoods in...
, "New York Talk Exchange" featured in the MoMA The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, and http://senseable.mit.edu/realtimerome/Real Time Rome
Real Time Rome
Real Time Rome is the MIT Senseable City Lab’s contribution to the 2006 Venice Biennale, directed by professor Richard Burdett. The project aggregated data from cell phones , buses and taxis in Rome to better understand urban dynamics in real time...
] included in the 2006 Venice Biennale of Architecture
Venice Biennale of architecture
Mostra di Architettura di Venezia, the Architecture section of the Venice Biennale, was established in 1980, although architecture had been a part of the art biennale since 1968....
.
The Lab's work draws on diverse fields such as urban planning, architecture, design, engineering, computer science, natural science and economics to capture the multi-disciplinary nature of urban problems and deliver research and applications that empower citizens to make choices that result in a more liveable urban condition. Among the Lab's partners are a group of forward-thinking corporations, including AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
, ENEL
Enel
Enel may refer to:*Enel SpA, an Italian electricity company*Enel , a fictional villain in the One Piece manga and anime series*Enel, meaning third in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, cf. Awakening of the Elves...
, SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
as well as world class cities such as Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Seattle, and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. At present, 31 researchers are working on activities sponsored by these industrial and municipal partners.
In 2010 the Lab will open a new research center in Singapore as part of a $35 million MIT-led initiative on the Future of Urban Mobility.
Approach
The Senseable City Lab begins its project and research work with a vision for an urban future, or "urban demo". This vision is tailored to a particular city's needs and can be motivated by the challenges a place may be confronting, or by opportunities for providing new experiences or services due to advances in digital technologies. Urban demos are designed to be showcased at large public events and exhibitions to stimulate debate between citizens, public administrators, and industry. Following an urban demo, the Lab typically engages in more traditional academic research - analyzing the data that has been collected and producing research papers.Achievements
Since 2004, the Senseable City Lab has grown rapidly reaching 35 completed projects by 2009 with a turnover of 63 researchers from all over the world. Lab researchers have produced 166 scientific publications in high-impact academic journals such as "Eigenplaces: analysing cities using the space-time structure of the mobile phone network". The Lab's design work has been exhibited in some of the world's leading venues including the Venice Biennale, MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, the 2008 Zaragoza World Expo, the Architectural League of New York, Design Museum Barcelona, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the MIT Museum. The Lab's work have been recognized in TIME Magazine's Best Invention of the Year 2007, Esquire Magazine's Best and Brightest 2008, Blueprint Magazine's List of 25 Who Will Change the World of Design in 2010, and Thames and Hudson's 2009 List of Innovators Shaping Our Creative Future. Also, over 1,000 press outlets worldwide have covered the Lab's projects including the BBC, CNN, New York Times, Le Monde, Financial Times, TIME, The Economist, National Geographic, Boston Globe, Seed, Wired, Metropolis, Domus, Discovery Channel and many more. In January 2009, Director Carlo RattiCarlo Ratti
Carlo F. Ratti is an Italian architect and engineer who practices in Torino, Italy, and he is the Associate Professor of Practice and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, where he directs the MIT Senseable City Lab...
represented the Lab as a delegate to the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
in Davos. In 2011, he presented at TED
TED
TED may refer to:* TED , an annual multidisciplinary conference* TED spread, the yield spread between U.S...
in Longbeach.