Harvard GSD Urban AI 2026 Conference
Multi-Scalar Urban Intelligence:
Towards an Adaptive Future
Towards an Adaptive Future
March 28, 2026 · Saturday
Piper Auditorium, Harvard Graduate School of Design
48 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138
The 2026 HUAI Conference is organized around a simple premise: urban intelligence isn't one thing at one scale. It's the feedback loop between a resident's experience and a city's infrastructure, between a building's sensors and a neighborhood's resilience. Multi-Scalar Urban Intelligence asks how we connect these layers, not just technically, but institutionally, equitably, and in ways that make cities genuinely more adaptive to what comes next.
Keynote & Closing
Keynote
Carlo Ratti
Professor of Practice of Urban Technologies and Planning, MIT
Director, Senseable City Lab;
Founder, Carlo Ratti Associati
Director, Senseable City Lab;
Founder, Carlo Ratti Associati
Closing Remark
Antoine Picon
G. Ware Travelstead Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology, Harvard GSD
Panel Discussions
Panel 1
Human Level
Crowdsourcing, perception data, behavioral signals, representation & privacy, and participatory design — exploring how individual-scale data shapes our understanding of urban experience.
Speakers
Sarah Williams
Director of Civic Data Design Lab, MIT;
Norman B. (1938) and Muriel Leventhal Associate Professor of Advanced Urbanism , MIT;
Director, Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism
Norman B. (1938) and Muriel Leventhal Associate Professor of Advanced Urbanism , MIT;
Director, Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism
Nneka Sobers
Deputy Director, NYC Innovation (New York City Mayor's Office)
Shin-pei Tsay
Chief Research & Data Officer, City of Boston
Siqi Zhu
Director of Urban Technologies & Planning, Associate Principal, Sasaki
Panel 2
Building Level
Sensor networks, occupancy dynamics, building performance, and energy systems — examining how building-level data informs neighborhood mobility and operational decisions.
Speakers
Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti
Associate Professor in Practice of Architecture, Harvard GSD
Founding Principal, Supernormal
Founding Principal, Supernormal
Richard L. (Rick) Rundell, FAIA
Principal Advisor, Track 5
Shane Burger
Chief Design Technology Officer, SOM
Robert Yori
Digital Solutions Studio Leader, AECOM
Panel 3
Neighborhood Level
Parcels, mobility patterns, risk clusters, land use, and community resilience — understanding how neighborhood patterns guide city-wide infrastructure and resource decisions.
Speakers
Kyle MertensMeyer
Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Algoma;
Founder, MERTENSMEYER DnA
Founder, MERTENSMEYER DnA
Chris Le Dantec
Director of Initiatives in Digital Civics, Northeastern University
Luc Wilson
Global Director of Design Technology, KPF
Ramon Gras Alomà
Co-Founder and CEO, Aretian Urban Analytics and Design
Panel 4
City Systems
Digital twins, infrastructure optimization, predictive modeling, and cross-sector governance — scaling insights from human, building, and neighborhood levels to citywide systems.
Speakers
Michael Lawrence Evans
Director of the Office of Emerging Technology, City of Boston
Matthew Claudel
Founder & CEO, Field States
Newsha Ghaeli
President and Co-Founder, Biobot Analytics
Michael M. Samuelian, FAIA
Founding Director of the Jacobs Urban Technology Hub, Cornell Tech
Jonathan Schulhof
Executive Vice President Innovation Industries, NYC Economic Development Corporation
Startup Demos
Zenerate
xFigura
Aretian Urban Analytics and Design
Algoma
TangiblEmpact
Mireta
Conference Schedule
9:25 – 9:30
Opening Remarks
9:30 – 10:10
Keynote Address
Carlo Ratti (MIT Senseable City Lab)
10:10 – 11:00
Panel 1: Human Level
Sarah Williams (MIT Civic Data Design Lab)
Nneka Sobers (City of New York)
Shin-pei Tsay (City of Boston)
Siqi Zhu (Sasaki)
Nneka Sobers (City of New York)
Shin-pei Tsay (City of Boston)
Siqi Zhu (Sasaki)
11:00 – 11:10
Coffee Break
11:10 – 11:40
Startup Demo Sessions
xFigura
Zenerate
11:40 – 12:30
Panel 2: Building Level
Elizabeth Bowie Christoforetti (Harvard GSD, Supernormal)
Rick Rundell (Track 5)
Shane Burger (SOM)
Robert Yori (AECOM)
Rick Rundell (Track 5)
Shane Burger (SOM)
Robert Yori (AECOM)
12:30 – 1:30
Lunch
1:30 – 2:00
Startup Demo Sessions
Aretian Urban Analytics and Design
Algoma
2:00 – 2:50
Panel 3: Neighborhood Level
Kyle Mertens Meyer (Algoma)
Chris Le Dantec (Northeastern University)
Luc Wilson (KPF)
Ramon Gras Aloma (Aretian)
Chris Le Dantec (Northeastern University)
Luc Wilson (KPF)
Ramon Gras Aloma (Aretian)
2:50 – 3:00
Coffee Break
3:00 – 3:30
Startup Demo Sessions
TangiblEmpact
Mireta
3:30 – 4:30
Panel 4: City Systems
Michael Lawrence Evans (City of Boston)
Matthew Claudel (Field States)
Newsha Ghaeli (Biobot Analytics)
Michael M. Samuelian (Cornell Tech)
Jonathan Schulhof (NYC Economic Development Corporation)
Matthew Claudel (Field States)
Newsha Ghaeli (Biobot Analytics)
Michael M. Samuelian (Cornell Tech)
Jonathan Schulhof (NYC Economic Development Corporation)
4:30 – 4:50
Closing Remarks
Antoine Picon (Harvard GSD)
4:50 – 6:15
Urban Tech Startup Fair
Connecting research insights with early-stage ventures
Sponsors
The 2026 HUAI Conference is supported by
Special Thanks for Support from
the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University