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Critical Technologies: Urban Tech for Social Impact

How can technology help create more equitable cities?


Held remotely via Zoom

June 9 & 10, 2021 Cornell Tech NYC

A Collaborative Symposium of the Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech, Cornell University, and the Technion's Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning

9:00

Session 1: Why?

10:00

Session 2: What?

12:00

Session 3: How?

2:00

Session 3: How?

The Speakers

Agenda

The ongoing pandemic highlighted long-standing social inequalities. These inequities have manifested themselves in various ways and along multiple fracture lines (e.g. race and ethnicity, class, and disability) leading to limiting access to opportunity and public space in cities. Despite mounting inequality – and although theory, social research, and policy indicate the need for more equitable urban environments – social issues that lack spatial definitions remain hard to incorporate into the planning processes. There is a growing need for effective, technology-based, spatial tools to understand the mechanisms that create and distribute disparities through the city.  


This conference will focus on the spatial dimensions of inequality in cities and will explore ways for technology to promote more equitable cities. It will bring together academic researchers from Cornell University, Cornell Tech, and the Technion, with practitioners from both NYC and Tel Aviv Planning Departments. The conference will map existing methodologies and planning tools regarding urban challenges based on state-of-the-art research in the field.


The conference will follow five main questions in five panels: Why, What, How, Who, and Where. Why is it important to harness technology to create more equitable cities; What can technology contribute to cities?  How can current technologies contribute to societal challenges? This will be exemplified through research projects from the three academic departments, ranging from data-driven urban research to, mixed reality, visualization, simulations to art. The closing session will cover the Who and Where? through a panel of decision-makers and examples of decision environments.

Schedule


Held remotely via Zoom

DAY 1 June 9th, 2021
 

8:30

Welcome, Introductions and Greetings

Moderator: 

Sharon Yavo-Ayalon and Michael Samuelian

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

Greg Morrisett
Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost, Cornell Tech 

Ron Brachman
Director of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Professor, Computer Science
 
Meejin Yoon
Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Cornell University
 
Yasha Grobman
Dean of the Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning Technion

9:00

Session 1: Why?

Framing the societal challenges related to urban redevelopment in face of urbanization processes and COVID-19

Moderator:

Meirav Aharon Gutman 
The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion
 
Howard Slatkin
Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Planning at NYC DCP
 
Erez Ben Eliezer
Israel Innovation Authority

Towards Smarter Decision Making

Rohit Aggarwala

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

10:00

Session 2: What?

11:30

Harnessing technology to develop more equitable cities

 

Moderator:
Jennifer Minner
Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Visualizing just places: the critical role of mapping technologies
 
Michael Samuelian
Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech
Defending Density 

Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman
The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion
Analytical Tools for Predicting Urban Well-Being
 
Robert W. Balder
Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University, NY

 

Aaron Sprecher 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Senses, Sensors, Sentiment – Few Notes on the Post-Pandemic Landscape of Architecture

Break 

12:00

Session 3: How?

Data, and Visualization

Moderator: 

Wendy Ju

Information Science, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech

Anthony M. Townsend 

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

NYCBusWatcher: Tools for Longitudinal Tracking, Visualization, Analysis and Predictive Modeling of New York City's Bus Network

 

Karel Martens 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

COVID-19 and the Duties in Transport 

 

Nicholas Klein 

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Car Donation Programs Affect Travel, Income, and Healthcare Access Among Poor Families.

Ryan Thomas

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Climate Risk Mapping in Contexts of Informality

1:30

Lunch Break

2:00

Session 4: How?

Mixed Reality, Simulations, Computer Vision

Moderator: 

Anthony M. Townsend

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

 

Harald Haraldsson 

Director, XR Collaboratory, Cornell Tech

XR Interaction Design and Urban Tech

 

Wendy Ju

Information Science, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech

Where Did This Car Learn to Drive?

 

Sharon Yavo-Ayalon 

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

Towards an Urban Displacement Simulator - A Microsimulation for Predicting the Demographic Changes Caused by Privatization

 

Daphna Levine

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

A New Perspective on Gentrification and Displacement:  Bat Yam Case-study

3:30

Break

4:00

Session 5: Who and Where?

Decision-making process and decision-making environments

Moderator:

Sharon Yavo-Ayalon

Jacobs Institute Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

 

Hagit Naali-Joseph

Strategic Planning Department, Tel Aviv

 

Neema Kudva

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

 

Christine Leuenberger

Department of Science and Technology Studies, Cornell

Beyond Walled Spaces – Transforming Policies of Exclusion with Policies of Inclusion

 

Batel Yossef 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Urban Digital Twin Technology Generates a New Setup for Decision Making Environments

5:30

Closing Remarks

DAY 2 June 10th, 2021
 


Held remotely via Zoom

9:00

Writing Workshop

An intimate workshop activity for generating new research proposals and facilitating further collaboration between Cornell Tech, the Technion and Cornell University.

Sharon Shahaf

PhD, University of Texas at Austin

Workshop Lead

Speakers

Speakers

8:30 am     

Welcome, Introductions and Greetings

Moderators

Sharon Yavo Ayalon and  Michael Samuelian, The Urban Tech Hub,Cornell Tech

00

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Greg Morrisett

Jack and Rilla Neafsey Dean and Vice Provost, Cornell Tech 

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Ron Brachman

Director of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Professor, Computer Science

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Meejin Yoon

Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, Cornell University

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Yasha Grobman

Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning Technion

9:00 am     

Session 1: Why?

Moderator  

Meirav Aharon Gutman

01

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Meirav Aharon-Gutman

Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Tech for Change: the social turn in the realm of urban technologies

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Howard Slatkin

Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Planning at NYC DCP

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Erez Ben Eliezer

Israel Innovation Authority

Towards Smarter Decision Making
 

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Rohit Aggarwala

Senior Urban Tech Fellow, The Urban Tech Hub, Cornell Tech

Rebooting NYC: An Urban Tech Agenda for the Next Administration

10:00 am     

Session 2: What?

Moderator  

Jennifer S. Minner

02

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Jennifer Minner

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Visualizing just places: the critical role of mapping technologies

 

 

Michael Samuelian

The Urban Tech Hub, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech

Defending Density 

 

Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Urban Wellbeing, as Influenced by Densification Rates and Building Typologies

 

Robert W. Balder

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University, NYC

>>>

 

Aaron Sprecher 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Senses, Sensors, Sentiment – Few Notes on the Post-Pandemic Landscape of Architecture

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IMG_4103 - Aaron Sprecher.jpg

12:00 pm     

Session 3: How?

03

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Moderator: 

Wendy Ju

Anthony M. Townsend 

The Urban Tech Hub, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech

NYCBusWatcher: Tools for Longitudinal Tracking, Visualization, Analysis and Predictive Modeling of New York City's Bus Network

 

Karel Martens 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

COVID-19 and the Duties in Transport 

 

Nicholas Klein 

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Car Donation Programs Affect Travel, Income, and Healthcare Access Among Poor Families.

 

Ryan Thomas

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

Climate Risk Mapping in Contexts of Informality

2:00 pm      

Session 4: How?  

Moderator  

Anthony M. Townsend

04

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Harald Haraldsson 

Director, XR Collaboratory, Cornell Tech

XR Interaction Design and Urban Tech

 

Wendy Ju

Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute

Where Did This Car Learn to Drive?

Sharon Yavo-Ayalon 

The Urban Tech Hub, the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech

Towards an Urban Displacement Simulator - A Microsimulation for Predicting the Demographic Changes Caused by Privatization

Daphna Levine

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

A New Perspective on Gentrification and Displacement:  Bat Yam Case-study

4:00 pm      

Session 5: Who and Where?

05

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Christine Leuenberger - Christine Leuenb
Batel Yossef Ravid - Batel Yossef Ravid.

Moderator  

Sharon Yavo-Ayalon

Hagit Naali-Joseph

Strategic Planning Department, Tel Aviv

>>>

Neema Kudva

Architecture, Art, and Planning Cornell University

>>>

 

 

Christine Leuenberger

Department of Science and Technology Studies, Cornell

Beyond Walled Spaces – Transforming Policies of Exclusion with Policies of Inclusion

 

Batel Yossef 

The Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion

Urban Digital Twin Technology Generates a New Setup for Decision Making Environments

The Venue
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The Venue

Cornell Tech, Urban Tech Hub 

2 West Loop Rd, New York, NY, 10044

Held virtually via Zoom

The Cornell Tech campus is New York City’s world-class tech destination. A thriving and inclusive community, a humming center of creative thinking, and a crossroads of research, education, and innovation: the Big Apple’s tech sector finally has a proper home.

Contact Us
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A Collaborative Symposium of the Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech, Cornell University and the Technion 

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