Architectural robotics enable a hyper-efficient, dynamically reconfigurable co-working space that accommodates a wide range of activities in a small area.

MIT CityScience is working with Hafencity University to develop CityScope for the neighborhood of Rothenburgsort in Hamburg, Germany. The goal is to create an interactive stakeholder engagement tool that also serves as the platform for joint research of modules for city simulation. Researchers are developing modules for walkability, neighborhood connectivity, energy efficiency, and economic activity, among others.

The CityScope "Scout" prototype integrates augmented reality with real-time mathematical modeling of geospatial systems. In practice, the technology transforms any tabletop into a canvas for land-use planning and walkability optimization. Users perform rapid prototyping with LEGO bricks and receive real-time simulation and evaluation feedback.

Playground is a full-sized, tangible 3D environment for rapid prototyping of building interventions in Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Through projection mapping and onscreen displays, users can receive feedback about the impacts of their interventions.

CityScope MarkIVb is programmed to demonstrate and model the relationship between land use (live and work), population density, parking supply and demand, and traffic congestion.

It's the 21st century and new cities are being built and old cities are being renovated to accommodate global population growth and urbanization. By 2009, more people in the world lived in cities than rural settings. This number will double by 2050 to three billion. Historically, people have felt ambivalence towards cities: while cities have been the wellspring of ideas, the cornerstone of the industrial revolution, and centers of economic improvement, they've also been the source of socioeconomic inequality, congestion, and crime. Inspired by several pieces of literature, we wanted to explore cities in a positive light and see what elements in a city could be related with higher levels of innovation.

Cities are hubs for innovation, characterized by densely populated areas where people and firms cluster together, share resources, and collaborate. In turn, dense cities show higher rates of economic growth and viability. Yet, the specific places innovation occurs in urban areas, and what the socioeconomic conditions are that encourage it, are still elusive for both researches and policymakers. Understanding the social and spatial settings that enable innovation to accrue will equip policymakers and developers with the metrics to promote and sustain innovation in cities. This research will measure the attributes of innovation districts across the US in terms of their land-use configurations and population characteristics and behaviors. These measurements will be used to identify the factors that enable innovation, with the goal of developing a methodological approach for producing quantitative planning guidelines to support decision-making processes.

Persuasive Cities research is aimed at advancing urban spaces to facilitate societal changes. According to social science research, any well-designed environment can become a strong influencer of what people think and do. There is an endlessly dynamic interaction between a person, a particular behavior, and a specific environment. Persuasive Cities research leverages this knowledge to engineer persuasive environments and interventions for altering human behavior on a societal level. This research is focused on socially engaging environments for supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, reshaping routines and behavioral patterns in urban spaces, deploying intelligent outdoor sensing for shifting mobility modes, enhancing environmentally friendly behaviors through social norms, introducing interactive public feedback channels to alter attitudes at scale, engaging residents through socially influencing systems, exploring methods for designing persuasive neighborhoods, and fostering adoption of novel urban systems. More: http://bit.ly/TEDxp

The effects of global climate change, in combination with rapid urbanization, have forced cities to seek low-energy and less carbon-intensive modes of transport. Cities have adopted policies like congestion pricing to encourage its citizens to give up private automobiles and to use mass transit or bicycling and walking. In this research study, we examine how persuasion technologies can be utilized to encourage positive modal shifts in mobility behavior in cities. We are particularly interested in studying the key persuasive strategies that enable, motivate, and trigger users to shift from high-energy to low-energy modes. This project is a collaboration between the MIT Media Lab and the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT).