Urban Tech Hub 2025 Annual Report

November 2025

As I reflect on the remarkable journey of the Urban Tech Hub over the past five years, I am filled with both pride and excitement—for what we have accomplished and for what lies ahead.

When we launched the Urban Tech Hub in 2020 in the depth of the Covid pandemic in New York City, our city’s challenges were many, but our mission was clear: to harness the power of technology to make cities stronger, fairer, and more resilient. What began with the creation of our Urban Tech Master’s Program and the appointment of our first Urbanist in Residence has grown into an impactful hub at the intersection of innovation, policy, and urban transformation. Our unique role—combining Cornell Tech’s startup culture with deep partnerships across NYC government and a broad remit across all dimensions of urban technology—has positioned us as an influential agent shaping this nascent field. From our inaugural What’s Next for Urban Tech? webinar series to hosting our first Urban Tech Summit in 2021, we have consistently convened thought leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and communities to face the most pressing urban challenges.

Over these five transformative years, we have published groundbreaking research—including Horizon Scan, Urban Tech Mosaic, Atlas of Urban Tech, and most recently, The Future of Generative AI in Architecture. We have launched a wide range of innovative programs such as the Urban Tech Fellows Program, the Urban Innovation Fellows Program, and the Local Infrastructure Hub’s Tech and Innovation Series. Along the way, we have built strategic partnerships with organizations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Sloan Foundation, Google for Startups, the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Canadian Technology Accelerator, further strengthening our influence in the field.

This past year, the Hub sharpened its impact by advancing applied research and forging partnerships to address New York City’s most urgent challenges. Major cross-disciplinary initiatives—including the Cornell Initiative on Aging and Adaptation to Extreme Heat and the RethinkAI consortium— translated cutting-edge research into actionable solutions for vulnerable populations.

Our new Urban Innovation Fellows Program deepened the adoption of transformative technologies across city agencies. As we look to the future amid global uncertainty, we continue to see both the strength of our foundation and the opportunities ahead. We are committed to deepening our technical expertise, strengthening industry connections, and ensuring our work delivers real-world solutions that benefit cities everywhere. It’s been an honor and a pleasure leading the Hub these past five years, and I want to extend my deepest thanks to our extraordinary team, visionary partners, dedicated fellows, and every member of our community. Together, we are not just imagining the future of cities—we are shaping it.

With gratitude,