Urban Tech Hub 2024 Annual Report

October 2024

As cities and technology continue to converge, the Urban Tech Hub is leading the way to help make New York the global center of urban innovation.

As we enter our 4th year here at the Urban Tech Hub of the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, we are reflecting on the dramatic changes that have occurred since we launched in 2020. There was so much uncertainty around the future of cities and an accelerated reliance on technology to help us manage our lives through the pandemic. Today we see a reversal whereby cities and urban environments are bouncing back strongly and now there is an increased skepticism – and in some cases a fear – of new technologies like AI.

At the Hub, we take a long view towards the role of technology in cities, and deeply believe in the power of technology to help optimize our aging urban systems, bring more social equity to cities and make urban environments more resilient to climate change.

This fall, we are delighted to welcome our new cohort of 22 urban tech students to campus! This year’s cohort comes from legendary New York City universities, leading schools across the country and some of the top school’s around the world. They add to our growing roster of pioneering urban tech graduates who are now working as analysts in government, data scientists in big tech companies and entrepreneurs in ambitious urban tech start ups.

Our research is increasingly focused on two profound changes in technology and cities, the future of urban AI and how cities must adapt to a changing climate. Led by our Senior Research Associate Anthony Townsend, our research ranges from a new Atlas of Urban Tech with case studies from around the world to new partnerships interrogating the public health impacts of climate change on aging populations in cities.

Adding to the breadth of our research, last year we welcomed our largest cohort of Urban Tech Fellows who took on challenges ranging from affordable housing and supercharging tech adoption in local government to the impacts of the Metaverse on cities and the role of digital technology to better understand how city streets operate. This year, we welcome two new fellows, Vianney Brandicourt and Tara Pham who are respectively investigating the impacts of Local Law 97 on building owners and
how to value curb space in New York City.

We continue to bring New York City’s ecosystem together in our Urban Tech Summit. Last year’s sold out event was an inspiration to the hundreds of attendees from industry, government and academia who came together to delve into the role of technology in efforts to decarbonize urban systems. This year’s Summit will conclude our recent three year focus on climate technologies with a look to the future of cities in the context of a changing climate.

Here’s to another successful year of bringing together dedicated researchers, entrepreneurs, government officials and industry leaders to work together to make cities stronger, fairer and more resilient.

Warm Regards,