City Science - MIT Media Lab

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City Science - MIT Media Lab

We work on new strategies for the places where people live and work, and mobility systems.

We propose that fundamentally new strategies must be found for creating the places where people live and work, and the mobility systems that connect these places, in order to meet the profound challenges of the future. We are investigating how new models for urban architecture and personal vehicles can be more responsive to the unique needs and values of individuals though the application of disen

tangled systems and smart customization technology. We are developing technology to understand and respond to human activity, environmental conditions, and market dynamics. We are interested in finding optimal combinations of automated systems, just-in-time information for personal control, and interfaces to persuade people to adopt sustainable behaviors.

09/02/2026

We are deeply honored to announce the Kent Larson Chair at the University of Guadalajara 🎉

A sincere thank you to our amazing partners at Universidad de Guadalajara for making this happen.

08/26/2026

Congratulations to Jonny Cohen and Allen Song on completing their master’s theses!

Jonny: “Good Citizen Robots: Embodiment and Communication for Last-Meter Delivery in Shared Spaces”

Allen: “Beyond Majority: Common Ground in Human and AI Decision Systems”

We’re so proud of your hard work and innovative research!

08/20/2026

Yesterday officials from Taipei City stopped by to explore how GenAI and emerging tech can shape the future of their city.

Thank you Luis and Allen for guiding the visit — thoughtful hosts, great conversations.

citysciencelabtaipei

08/13/2026

Huge congratulations to Andres Rico on successfully defending his PhD dissertation! 🎉

Yesterday, Andres presented “Community-based sensing: Generating Granular Urban Information for Dynamic and Informal Environments” — groundbreaking work that’s making a real difference in how we understand and support informal settlements.

Through his Axol platform, Andres developed low-cost water-sensing systems that give households in underserved communities access to critical data about their own water resources. His research shows that reliable insight isn’t just about technology — it’s about combining smart hardware, thoughtful data analysis, and human-centered design to put power back in the hands of communities.

Working with communities in Lomas del Centinela (Guadalajara), Andres demonstrated how community-based sensing can tackle real challenges around resource access and environmental resilience.

Thank you to his advisor Kent Larson, Joe Paradiso and Gesa Ziemer for the mentorship and collaboration.

Excited to see where this work leads next and all the impact Andres will continue to create!

06/12/2026

Excited to share that our PhD student Andres Rico (Andrés Rico ) and our Director Kent Larson (Kent Larson ) just published “Making Sense of Sensors: Improving LLM Interpretation of Time-Series Data”.

The problem is simple but significant: we’re collecting massive amounts of sensor data from our homes and buildings, but most people have no idea what it actually means. A spike in water consumption? A pattern in energy use? Without technical expertise, it’s all just numbers on a screen.

In this research, they used Large Language Models paired with structured contextual information to transform raw sensor data into clear, human-readable insights.

Read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/etaKXUbV

mitmedialab

06/01/2026

Congratulations to Ivan and Xabi for winning the MIT AI for Microelectronics Manufacturing Hackathon with Silicon Paella—an AI assistant that turns years of messy fab data (machine logs, technician notes, equipment manuals) into instant, grounded answers during live incidents.

05/27/2026

Huge congrats to Naroa Coretti, Yasushi Sakai, Kaleigh Spears, Lisa Liang, and Matt Smith on graduation! 🎉 You all brought so much to our group!

05/26/2026

The 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) was held from 17–22 May 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing representatives of governments, cities, policymakers, civil society and academia from around the world under the organisation of UN-Habitat.

The City Science Lab Network, including the City Science Lab Hamburg and Guadalajara along with their teams and partners, contributed to a dynamic programme of sessions, exchanges and collaborative activities throughout the Forum.

Across the WUF Academy Campus, Voices from Cities, networking events, SDG in Action and the Expo, the labs presented and discussed projects related to urban data, digital twins, citizen participation, AI for cities, climate and resilience, highlighting how collaborative innovation can help shape more inclusive and sustainable urban futures by creating spaces for exchange, dialogue, experimentation and co-creation, while connecting cities, researchers and communities from across the globe.

05/06/2026

An honor to welcome Tea Master Soryo Matsumura to the MIT Media Lab!

We explored the System Architecture of Chanoyu and a select group of our team members experienced the tea ceremony firsthand.

05/04/2026

We loved hosting Zuriñe, Scientific Director of City Science Lab Gipuzkoa, at our Spring Member Event! She discovered new research and innovation, dived into interactive workshops, and witnessed live research presentations from her own students, Pau, Nere and Xabi, who were working at MIT. A special moment seeing their work in action!

Address

20 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA
02142

Website

https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/city-science/

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