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Introducing TerraVide

Sarang Pramode- 3/14/23

Urban trees are essential to the sustainability and livability of our cities. They provide numerous benefits to both residents and the environment, making them an important aspect of city planning and design. However, accurately measuring and analyzing the impact of urban trees can be a challenging task. Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Urban Tech Hub and Cornell University’s Design Across Scales Lab have developed a novel approach to quantifying NYC’s tree canopy using LiDAR technology. The collaboration led to the development of a new tool called “TerraVide”, which is a package that creates detailed 3D models of the urban canopy and quantifies the impact of trees in a more accurate and efficient way. Read More

How Buildings Can Get Smarter about Carbon Using Occupant Data

Michael Samuelian – 12/19/22

In 2019, the NYC Council passed Local Law 97 (LL97) to regulate the amount of carbon that buildings can emit. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LL97 is “the most ambitious building emissions legislation enacted by any city in the world.” This is a critically important step to help decarbonize one of our more polluting urban systems since according to a 2016 report by the City of New York buildings account for nearly 50% of our carbon emissions. Any while LL97 is indeed important, ambitious, and well-intentioned, but it is also flawed. Read More

How Urban Tech Can Help the Climate Mobilization

Giacomo Bagarella – 11/11/22

“The 2022 Smart Cities New York Urban Tech Summit on October 24–25 focused on this topic with two packed days revolving around “The Climate Mobilization: Harnessing NYC’s Urban Tech Ecosystem.” Hosted and organized by Cornell Tech, the conference offered a convenient (and transit-accessible) way to reconnect in person with this community after several years of remote-only events.” Read More

Op-ed: Urban tech can help manage some major NYC challenges

Michael Samuelian | Anthony Townsend – 10/07/22

Urban tech can be central to NYC’s recovery. But we have to do more. Check out the latest op-ed from the Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech: Read More

Announcing the Bus Observatory API

Anthony Townsend – 08/11/22

Over the last two years, Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Urban Tech Hub has been tooling up to collect and use real-time data from bus systems in the New York region. Today, Anthony Townsend is delighted to announce that this facility, the Bus Observatory API, is now available. Feel free to jump right in, or continue reading to learn more about the data and how they are delivering it.

Three Ways that New York City’s Tech Entrepreneurs are Helping the City Get Back to Work

Michael Samuelian – 07/14/22

The NYC Recovery Challenge began in spring 2021 when three leaders in New York City’s tech ecosystem, Cornell Tech, Tech:NYC and Google for Startups came together with the shared goal of helping New York City’s business recovery. We were looking to spur diverse and resilient job growth and retention in the city to help address the New York’s still high unemployment rate, which was still (and continues to be) twice the rest of the country.^[1] The strategy we developed was to focus specifically on ways that technologies were being used by New York-based tech startups to support small businesses and the workers most directly affected by the Covid pandemic. Read More

Smart Cities Workshop Unites Cornell Campuses, Urbanism Community

CORNELL TECH – 07/01/22

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, innovative technologies are being implemented to develop smart cities, which use sensors and data to inform the design, policies and management for urban environments. The multifaceted industry provides many opportunities for interdisciplinary academic collaboration, while also creating an environment for real-world implementation and impact. Read More

Rit Aggarwala Appointed as NYC’s Chief Climate Officer

CORNELL TECH – 01/31/22

Per Bloomberg, today New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that his administration will be hiring Cornell Tech Fellow Rohit (“Rit”) Aggarwala to serve as the city’s Chief Climate Officer and Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. Read More

Cornell Tech, Tech:NYC, Google Announce $150,000 Startup Challenge Winners

Harlem World – 12/09/21

Today the Jacobs Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech, in partnership with Tech: NYC and Google for Startups, announced the winning startups of the NYC Recovery Challenge. Read More

Op-ed: Let's disrupt city government with tech for good

Crain’s New York Business – 12/06/21

In 1995 only a handful of tech companies operated in New York City. Today there are more than 9,000 startups. The growth of the tech ecosystem during the past 25 years has been an incredible success story. The city now has a unique opportunity to optimize its systems, starting inside its bureaucracy. Read More

Cornell Researchers Analyze Major Trends in Urban Tech

Government Technology – 10/15/21

A team of researchers at Cornell Tech has developed a forecast of urban technology trends over the coming decade, predicting movements in machine learning, life sciences, infrastructure and other fields. Read More

Cornell’s urbanist in residence envisions the smart city decade ahead

Cities Today – 10/13/21

Blockchain, social media, digital twins, smart buildings, delivery robots…Technology innovations and headlines come thick and fast these days. It can be overwhelming for city officials to take everything in and understand what it means for them and their residents. A new ‘Horizon Scan’ interactive resource from Cornell Tech explores more than 250 urban technology innovations and sets them in context for cities, in terms of both the opportunities and risks. Read More

Google offers $150K for startups that help the city’s recovery

Crain’s New York Business – 09/29/21

A new competition launched Wednesday—backed by the technology giant, along with industry group Tech:NYC and Cornell Tech—is offering cash rewards to early-stage startups. Winners also receive access to a month of free mentorship from Google and Cornell Tech. Read More

Let tech build NYC’s future, today

Daily News – 06/25/21

Drones inspecting building facades, a digital wallet enabling people to access their public benefits, high-speed broadband for all and fewer trucks and cars on city streets thanks to new mobility options delivering packages across the city. These are not sci-fi dreams, but off-the-shelf technologies that can be brought to New York City within the next administration. Read More

Experts Release Agenda for Next Mayor to Better Use Technology in Solving City Problems

Gotham Gazette – 05/13/21

A report released Wednesday provides technological solutions for some of the city’s myriad problems and examines the barriers to their adoption, with the hope of provoking intense debate about urban technology in this year’s municipal election. Read More

Project to Map How Next New York Leaders Can Leverage Technology to Address City's Problems

Gotham Gazette – 03/02/21

With New York City’s political landscape on the verge of drastic change, urban technology experts at Cornell Tech, the graduate school based on Roosevelt Island, are looking to make sure that the new class of city officials elected this year will embrace technology-based solutions to the city’s longstanding challenges. Read More

New Cornell Tech course helping cities reboot

Cornell Chronicle – 02/18/21

A platform that uses machine learning, sensors and location data to guide customers to safely distanced cafe seating and an augmented reality platform offering immersive art experiences are among the projects Cornell Tech students have proposed to help New York City emerge from COVID-19. Read More

COVID-19 New Paradigms in Urbanism & Design: Q&A with Michael Samuelian

VOICES OF URBAN DESIGN – 10/13/20

Michael Samuelian, FAIA, AICP, is an urban planner, real estate developer, and professor. From the revitalization of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 to the creation of a new neighborhood in Hudson Yards and the activation of Governors Island he’s helped plan, design and develop some of the most transformative projects in New York City. Read More

How tech can help save NYC: A more inclusive innovation economy can point the way forward

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – 09/25/20

For centuries, cities have been hubs of innovation, attracting ambitious people who develop and deploy creative solutions to the world’s problems. Cities also expose our deepest inequities, as we have seen with public health and economic fallout resulting from COVID-19. Consequently, they are ideal platforms for addressing challenges and bringing people back together. Read More

Cornell Tech Unveils Defending Density Course

CONNECT NEW YORK – 09/08/20

Cornell Tech has launched classes in its “Defending Density: Is This the Death of the City?” course. Michael Samuelian, named director of the Roosevelt Island-based college’s Urban Tech Hub this past spring, told Crain’s New York Business he devised the course as a way to launch the hub. Read More

Former Governors Island Director Michael Samuelian to Lead Cornell Tech Initiative

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS – 04/22/20

Michael Samuelian, the former leader of the Trust for Governors Island, has landed at Cornell Tech. Read More

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