Search by tag «Urban studies» 33 results

• What Makes Creative Businesses Successful

  Scientists from ITMO’s Institute of Design & Urban Studies have conducted research on St. Petersburg’s creative spaces. The dynamics of creative spaces is an indicator of the state of creative economy, which, in turn, affects the city’s urban development and its image. According to Alexei Kudrin, head of the nonprofit Center for Strategic Research, during the global economic crisis the creative sector grew by 14% a year, going against the overall trend. But even though it is a fast-growing sector in European countries, Russia does not fully use its potential. The industry’s share in the city’s GDP fluctuates between 1% and 1.5%, as opposed to about 6%-9% in London and Berlin, which makes this study on creative spaces in Russian cities so relevant. Researchers tried to answer the following questions: How long do creative clusters live? What types of creative spaces live longer?

  04.05.2018

• InnoJam: Students Help Develop Smart Solutions for ITMO’s New Campus

  Last week, ITMO University’s Convergent Innovations Center and SAP University Alliances conducted an InnoJam design-thinking session that challenged participants to provide smart, innovative solutions for the organization of flexible educational spaces at ITMO’s new campus. Students from ITMO University, Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering and St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications developed app prototypes and concept designs of the future campus’s spaces and interiors.

  23.04.2018

• Academic Exchange in Brussels: Urban Science in the Heart of Europe

  The heart of Europe, the headquarters of the EU, dozens of museums and historic streets – this is Brussels as seen by tourists. But for an urbanist, this city, with all its sights, is still a place where many issues are yet to be solved. How do you set up new spaces in the old city, ensure pedestrian connectivity and make a city modern? Ekaterina Grekhnyova, a Master’s student at ITMO University, tackled these and other tasks during a semester spent at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She spoke to ITMO.NEWS about studying and living in Belgium.

  26.02.2018

• CityNext Head Alexander Danilin: How Smart Tech Changes Life of Cities

  A lecture-meeting with Alexander Danilin, head of the Department of Strategic Projects and CityNext initiative at Microsoft, was held at ITMO University. Nowadays the IT-giant is carrying out collaborations with schools and universities, providing software and a range of latest technologies on special terms. However, in addition to what has already become traditional cooperation with government entities and organizations, today Microsoft offers solutions for different cities, helping put into practice the concept of "smart" cities and regions. Alexander Danilin told ITMO.NEWS which key technologies are just starting to take effect in the development of the "smart" city and region, whom the fate of conflicting initiatives depends on and what scenarios and projects of digital transformation await us in the nearest future.

  20.10.2017

• Lighting Design Conference: A Bright Future For St. Petersburg

  On October 12 to 13, the 4th International Research-to-Practice Conference on Lighting Design was held at Alexandrinsky Theatre’s New Stage. Participants discussed new methods and the best foreign and domestic practices in lighting design. The event is an open international platform for new ideas, methods and tools. This year’s conference drew more than 500 architects, lighting designers, engineers, artists, urbanists, experts in IT, multimedia and smart technologies, as well as scientists, students, and representatives of the government and the industry.

  16.10.2017

• What It Means to Be an Architect in 21st Century

  The concept of public spaces is still somewhat underdeveloped in Russia, but it is already hard to imagine cities where projects such as the New Holland island renovation in St. Petersburg or the Wi-Fi enabled playgrounds in Kemerovo aren’t being implemented. Good public spaces are ones that the people love and keep coming back to. Urban studies are a new thing to Russia, but architects and planners are already adapting to new standards. Architect Daria Paramonova gave a talk as part of the Strelka Institute Week in St. Petersburg. Among the topics of discussion were: the role of architects in large-scale urban renovations and the intricacies of project planning – from historical research and pedestrian and transit route analysis to in-depth interviews with locals.

  10.10.2017

• Spatial Development Forum: How Citizens Create Smart Cities

  According to IESE’s Cities in Motion Index, St. Petersburg is rated 103rd among the world’s “smartest” cities. The city’s Governor believes that the city has potential to be among the top 50. How can that goal be achieved, however? Through the integration of information technologies in the city’s management systems. It is also important that the citizens take on a more active role in the city’s life. At the III International Spatial Development Forum (ISDF), a plenary discussion on the future of “smart” urban technologies was held. This year, the forum’s main theme is “Re.Urban – Re.Evolution — rethinking of cities’ essence and evolutional ways of their development”. The event is co-organized by ITMO University and the Government of St. Petersburg.

  29.09.2017

• The Evolution and Future of Public Lighting

  Three centuries ago, Peter the Great had decreed that St. Petersburg’s streets were to be lit with oil lanterns. Thus, the country’s new capital became the first Russian city to have public lighting. Today, St. Petersburg remains one of the country’s best examples of urban light environment. But each year, new approaches to lighting design, architecture and smart-city engineering appear all over the world. This field itself is becoming a platform not only for lighting designers, architects and artists, but for scientists, researchers and IT specialists as well. Participants of the roundtable discussion “Light in the City: design or programming. New technological developments and tools for modern urban analysis” discussed the future, why modern cities require more than a safe light environment, and how to use new technologies to change the approach to street lighting.

  22.09.2017

• Lawns vs. Paths: Why Urban Planners Can’t Please Everybody

  Traffic jams, a lack of green areas or infrastructure, overpopulation, crowded public transportation – these issues are all too familiar to the citizens of major cities. The solutions to these problems can seem strange: closing roads, sharing cars with strangers or laying down paths only after the people have moved into the neighborhood. But research shows that it is such seemingly uncomfortable solutions that make for a comfortable urban environment. Michael Lees, co-head of International Laboratory “Urban Informatics” and Assistant Professor at University of Amsterdam, spoke to ITMO.NEWS about how urban studies save cities, which paradoxes of urban planning scientists encounter and why “smart” technologies take so long to be adopted by major cities.

  20.06.2017

• SPIEF: ITMO Showcases First Russian Computer Simulation for Urban Development

  Staff of ITMO University’s eScience Research Institute have developed Russia’s first-ever dynamic urban development simulation. This computer simulation represents the process of a city’s construction and its social life. This allows researchers to predict various scenarios of the city’s development and detect possible issues before they occur, which helps improve the urban environment and better integrate “smart city” systems. The model was showcased at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and was presented to Nikolay Nikiforov, Minister of Communications and Mass Media and Georgy Poltavchenko, Governor of St. Petersburg.

  06.06.2017