MA in Smart Cities And Urban Informatics (SCUI)

This seminar course will provide students with the tools and methods for conducting independent research into smart cities topics. It will integrate issues of data generation, research methodology and analytic tools to equip students with the skills for researching smart cities. The course format will include both lectures, student presentations and hands on exercises. 

Urban planning is a major component of urban dynamics and a field for the application of smart city tools. The course aims to introduce changing conceptions of urban planning and technological, economic and political transformations that explain them. It discusses changing conceptions, from visionaries such as Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, to present day strategies of "neoliberal" planning, smart/sustainable growth and (new) urbanism, concluding with likely future trends in light of technological breakthroughs, global warming challenges and post- COVID-19 realities.

Most people live in urban areas today. With a strong immigration trend to cities, along with the growing population, more than 65% of humanity is expected to live in cities by 2050, setting a new set of disturbing challenges. The information revolution, accompanied by the developed technologies of recent decades, introduces a new concept: the smart city. In this course, we will define that term and discuss further aspects and implications of future cities on human social, economic, and environmental systems.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are at the core of all smart cities - that’s what makes them smart. From collecting data through analyzing to presenting (smart) cities data, GIS is a principal component of all smart operations.In this introductory course, we will gain practical experience working with GIS software and elementary theoretical background of geoinformatics - the necessary tools for a wide variety of tasks.

The aims of this course are to familiarize the students with the world of remote sensing, and the capabilities it offers to map urban areas at various spatial and temporal scales, using satellite images. Specific topics we will cover will include mapping of impervious areas, vegetation and functional areas within cities. The students will learn some of the basics of Academic Head and Advisor: Prof. Daniel Felsenstein E-mail : daniel.felsenstein@mail.huji.ac.il Office: Social Sciences Faculty, Room 5412 Office hours: Tuesdays from 12:00-13:00 or by appointment Tel.: 02-5883843 remote sensing, will become familiar with various datasets which are freely available, and at the end of the course will be able to conduct basic remote sensing analysis of urban areas.

The landscape of cities, smart cities and societies invites us to reflect, understand and plan possible collective futures. Through a series of field trips and meetings, this unique course will put the pieces together: assemble the domains and silos of municipalities and systems; figure out the role of new technologies and service applications; and develop a vision of innovation in cities. To carry out a meaningful project, students are invited to apply methods and tools learned in other courses in the program, to practice new skills and gain real-world experience.