Urban design and data: how energy micro-flows shape our cities
The continuous process of urban transformation, which has included multiple works and demolitions over the years, has been possible thanks to the energy flows that converge in the city. Now, we can guide urban decisions by “natural” criteria to make them more efficient. For this, it is key to observe and detect where there are flows rubbing against the territory with enough potential to create life around them. This is the true substratum of an organic urbanism.
Democratizing co-production of sustainable public services. 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research. 15-17 June 2022
On June, 16th I will be participating in the the Digital Government Society (DGS)’s 23rd Annual International Conference on Digital...
Urbanism and energy
Urbanism can be understood as the set of processes that take advantage of the energy that reaches a city for its conversion into an urban structure. Thus, the configuration of the built space corresponds to possible states in which matter can be organized in a stable way (at least for a while).
Urbanism explained from entropy
How does a city acquire “order” (or, decrease its entropy) and increase its complexity? In the same way that a system of dunes, a plant, or any living being does, thanks to the contribution of energy and matter. From this perspective, the set of processes that deal with the use of that energy for the formation of a city structure is what we call urbanism.
Urbanism and thermodynamics. An Alternative Approach
If, the structure of natural ecosystems, organisms, and social organizations is formed and grows thanks to the energy flows that affect them, it does not seem unreasonable to think that in cities, social ecosystems formed by all kinds of organisms (including people), urbanism and thermodynamics are related through similar phenomena.
Most viewed
Jane Jacobs: Death and Life of Cities 04/05/2020 
Marshall McLuhan. Understanding media (and cities) 26/09/2020 
William Mitchell “E-topia…”: smart, green and… 26/08/2020
Featured
Jane Jacobs: Death and Life of Cities
Jane Jacobs’s “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”, her main book published in 1961, still remains a surprising source of ideas covering a multitude of aspects that guide life in cities: the economy, security, habitat, traffic, governance, planning, participation…
Spring 2020 On-line Program of Talks & Lectures
No travel, no face-to-face events this spring. But we will be sharing screens and ideas anyway. In these hard times, there is a lot to be talking about on urban innovation and smart cities: data, DIY manufacturing, open challenges for recovery, start-ups.
Join us in our next talk:
June, 16th. At the Smart Cities’ Sofa Summits. Talk about “Smart City Challenges for Recovery after Covid-19”
Master in Collective Housing (MCH) – UPM/ETH
(MCH), an international postgraduate program of advanced architecture design in cities and housing presented by Universidad Politécnica...
Situationists For Open City Makers
Amongst the “avant garde” revolutionary intellectuals, the situationists were one of a kind. Though they were few, they often were waging battles under the leadership of a young Guy Débord to surpass other contemporary movements such as letterism and surrealism. Their views on urbanism or automation were anticipatory.
Do you want to contact me?
If you are interested in what I do and want to contact me to collaborate on a project, prepare a course or arrange a talk or interview, fill out the form.