Between Oct. 7 and 9, Greater Concepci\u00f3n will become the global epicenter of urban innovation and city science. For the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, the annual gathering of the urban laboratory network of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will take place in Chile, led locally by City Lab Biob\u00edo. <\/p>\n
Researchers, urban planners and professionals from nine countries will convene at the Cities in Transition Summit to reflect on the cities of the future and review concrete urban initiatives grounded in innovation, data use and global scientific collaboration with a local focus.<\/p>\n
For Concepci\u00f3n residents, the main event will be Oct. 8 at the Teatro Biob\u00edo, which will host a full day of exhibitions, panel discussions, artistic performances, experience-sharing with other city science labs from the network, and interactive booths from technology companies, universities and startups. Registration is open at citylabbiobio.cl. <\/p>\n
The Cities in Transition Summit is organized by City Lab Biob\u00edo in cooperation with the Regional Government of Biob\u00edo, the Chilean Chamber of Construction and Corporaci\u00f3n Ciudades. The event has the support of more than 50 institutions and companies, with Entel Digital and Grupo CAP Huachipato as the principal sponsors \u2014 a sign of the private sector’s growing interest in urban planning and development. <\/p>\n
“We want to open a space where people can connect with fresh ideas and imagine what the cities of the future will look like, drawing on the technology and science available today so that it translates into our neighborhoods, parks and streets \u2014 for the enjoyment of everyone,” said Fernando P\u00e9rez, principal director of City Lab Biob\u00edo.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 8 program will feature Kent Larson, director of the City Science group at MIT Media Lab, internationally recognized for his contributions to smart city design. Also appearing will be Kristian Norelius, art director at Pixar Animation Studios, and Amy Allen, the studio’s sets design supervisor, who will discuss how the animated worlds in films such as “Coco,” “Inside Out” and “WALL-E” are created. <\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez said the Pixar component was designed to draw a broader audience that included children. “We asked ourselves how a child approaches the city, how they understand an idealized urban environment \u2014 and that connected directly with the work Pixar does to interpret that vision,” the architect said. <\/p>\n
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Innovation with a Local Identity<\/strong><\/p>\n On Tuesday, Oct. 7, researchers from the various laboratories will have a full working day. Split into five groups alongside higher education institutions, companies and public and private organizations, they will travel to Santa Juana, Talcahuano and Concepci\u00f3n to address five urban challenges that have been analyzed throughout the year through remote collaboration and pilot projects. <\/p>\n Those challenges are: studying thermal comfort in informal settlements, in coordination with the City Lab in Hamburg; modeling mobility scenarios in San Pedro de La Paz, in partnership with the City Lab in Gipuzkoa; developing AI-enhanced wine tourism routes in the Biob\u00edo Valley, together with labs in Taipei and Andorra; preventing wildfires through technology-assisted grazing to reduce fire-prone vegetation, in coordination with researchers in Shanghai, Andorra and Boston; and promoting urban food security, in coordination with teams in Guadalajara.<\/p>\n “Having Biob\u00edo host a scientific gathering of this caliber is a major opportunity. This event will allow us to learn from world-class cities while also drawing them into the search for solutions for our region,” said Sergio Giacaman, governor of the Biob\u00edo Region.<\/p>\n \u201cEste intercambio nos permitir\u00e1 aprender de sus experiencias y entender que los desaf\u00edos que vivimos ac\u00e1 tambi\u00e9n se viven en otras ciudades del mundo\u201d, complementa Bernardo Suazo, past president de la C\u00e1mara Chilena de la Construcci\u00f3n de Concepci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n The event’s name \u2014 “cities in transition” \u2014 refers to the speed at which science and technology are transforming the way people inhabit their territories. According to Patricio Donoso, chairman of the board of Corporaci\u00f3n Ciudades, the Summit will embody that spirit and “invite all of us to reflect, think and dream about Greater Concepci\u00f3n. From its origins, this city has been built collectively \u2014 and that must remain true going forward.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Between Oct. 7 and 9, Greater Concepci\u00f3n will become the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin-categorizar"],"yoast_head":"\n