Reducing congestion in San Pedro de la Paz, improving the thermal performance of homes in informal settlements in Talcahuano, preventing wildfires in Santa Juana, strengthening wine tourism routes in the Biob\u00edo Valley, and enhancing food security in Concepci\u00f3n are the five urban challenges in Greater Concepci\u00f3n that City Lab Biob\u00edo has been working on this year with city science labs from Hamburg, Gipuzkoa, Andorra, Taipei, Shanghai, and Guadalajara, along with researchers from the MIT Media Lab.<\/p>\n
All of them share a common focus on using innovation and technology to find practical solutions. They will also be part of the discussions at the \u201cCities in Transition\u201d Summit, organized by City Lab Biob\u00edo and inaugurated this Tuesday by the Biob\u00edo Regional Government, the Chilean Chamber of Construction in Concepci\u00f3n, and Corporaci\u00f3n Ciudades.<\/p>\n
The opening session took place at the Mural Hall of the Regional Government headquarters, where researchers from the participating urban labs were welcomed. The technical teams then traveled to a series of workshops in Santa Juana, Talcahuano, and Concepci\u00f3n to continue working on the urban challenges addressed during the summit.
The results of that work will be reviewed next Thursday during the closing session, which will be held at the Innovation Building of the University of B\u00edo-B\u00edo. <\/p>\n
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\u201cWith the experience of nearly one hundred researchers from around the world, we can bring proven success stories, explore how they can be adapted to the local context, and ensure they have a positive impact on people\u2019s quality of life,\u201d explained Fernando P\u00e9rez, principal director of City Lab Biob\u00edo.<\/p>\n
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Along those lines, Kent Larson, director of the City Science group at the MIT Media Lab, noted that this is the ninth Summit organized by the network worldwide, but the first in South America \u201cand the largest we\u2019ve held so far. It\u2019s an opportunity for our researchers from around the world to learn about the challenges facing cities like Concepci\u00f3n and others across Latin America, and to take those lessons back with them as they look for solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The main public day of the City Science network\u2019s gathering will take place this Wednesday, October 8. Throughout the day, the Teatro Biob\u00edo will host a series of activities open to the community focused on urban innovation. Visitors will be able to attend artistic performances and exhibitions, meet startups and technology companies, and take part in talks that will also be streamed online. Participation, whether in person or online, is free, although attendees must register in advance at citylabbiobio.cl. <\/p>\n
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\u201cToday we are connecting with the world,\u201d said Jaime Aravena, acting regional governor of Biob\u00edo. \u201cWe hope the analyses carried out here will give us tools to make better decisions in the future and help build a better city for Biob\u00edo, which is the goal we share as a regional government.\u201d <\/p>\n
The event at Teatro Biob\u00edo will feature international speakers such as Kristian Norelius, art director at Pixar Animation Studios, and Amy Allen, a set design supervisor at the studio, who will share their experience creating environments for films such as \u201cCoco,\u201d \u201cInside Out,\u201d \u201cWall-E,\u201d and \u201cToy Story 3.\u201d The program will also include Kent Larson, director of the City Science group at the MIT Media Lab and a global reference in the design of smart cities. <\/p>\n
Jorge Coloma, president of the Chilean Chamber of Construction in Concepci\u00f3n, highlighted the work of City Lab Biob\u00edo and the potential of using today\u2019s technologies to improve urban decision-making. \u201cWe are working to incorporate these tools into both metropolitan and municipal regulatory plans. This is an enormous opportunity to learn from researchers coming from cities similar to Greater Concepci\u00f3n,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mart\u00edn Andrade, executive director of Corporaci\u00f3n Ciudades, stressed that \u201cwhat we often need is to think not only from what we feel, believe, or hear, but to rely on data and science. Rather than just talking about smart cities, we should be talking about smart citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
City Lab Biob\u00edo operates in Greater Concepci\u00f3n thanks to the support and funding of the Biob\u00edo Regional Government and the Chilean Chamber of Construction, with operations carried out by Corporaci\u00f3n Ciudades. It also receives strategic support from the University of Concepci\u00f3n, the University of B\u00edo-B\u00edo, and Universidad del Desarrollo, along with partnerships with public institutions and private companies. <\/p>\n
The Cities in Transition Summit is also supported by Grupo CAP-Huachipato and Entel Digital as main sponsors, along with the collaboration of Essbio, Whoosh, Casa Dise\u00f1o, MDS Hoteles, Inacap, and the universities Santo Tom\u00e1s, del Desarrollo, and Andr\u00e9s Bello.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Reducing congestion in San Pedro de la Paz, improving the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-summit"],"yoast_head":"\n