New Century Cities
New Century Cities (NCC) is a joint research initiative among the Center for Real Estate, City Design and Development in Urban Studies and Planning, and the Smart Cities Group/Media Lab which focuses on a new generation of development projects.
These very large-scale projects are deliberately located at the intersection of technology, urban design, and real estate development. They can be found in New York City, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Belfast, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Seoul, and Singapore. In addition, projects are on the drawing boards in places such as Florianopolis, Brazil, and Zaragoza, Spain. These projects vary in size and in how their development is organized and led.
NCC projects are some of the largest developments undertaken since the "New Cities" projects of post-World War II Europe. As mixed use projects, they are home to technology enterprises, including enterprises that leverage information technology, and to creative workers who both live and work in the development zones.
What New Century Cities have in common are:
They promote innovation to achieve significant social and economic value for their host cities (and, in some cases, countries). These projects lead to development of highly creative, cutting edge, value-added production in the global high technology fields, thereby building substantial social and economic capital for the geographic regions in which they are located.
Information and media technologies are woven into the design of the cities. These developments are pioneering integration of advanced communication and media technologies into the physical form and fabric of New Century Cities, and into the enterprises, institutions, retail and entertainment establishments, and residences that make them up.
They are eminently "livable". These developments are designed for a high degree of "livability," adding a hugely important new dimension to the previous generation of science park developments. The result is the creation of spaces and places that attract the younger generation of creative workers to these live/work/play environments that melt the old boundaries in space and time between residential, office, and retail/entertainment real estate.
The public and private sectors are intertwined. These developments are characterized by partnerships among governments, real estate developers, educational or research institutions, and technology companies. The latter, which rarely have had much to do with real estate in the past, have suddenly recognized the market for technology in the public space, and are now playing a central role in these developments.
Publications and Case Studies
- New Century Cities Case Studies
- Press release: New Century Cities emerge around the globe, February 2005
(Please see also: New Century Development publications)
Activities
- New Century Cities Symposium: Real Estate Value in a Digital World (January 18-19, 2005) —
This symposium brought to MIT a select group of thought-leaders from three synergistic communities: World cities that are implementing large-scale, technology-driven projects, advanced media and information technology firms; and real estate developers who are pioneering these kinds of developments. The symposium was a workshop among these leaders to advance our knowledge and understanding of how such developments work, and how they create value for their sponsors and communities, particularly for large-scale mixed-use projects throughout the world. - New Century Cities Seminar (September - December 2004) —
The Center for Real Estate, the City Design and Development Group and Smart Cities at the MIT Media Lab co-sponsored a faculty-student seminar, which consisted of six seminar sessions held from September through December 2004. The core group included more than five faculty members, ten students and a teaching assistant. Additional faculty visitors from various MIT departments and visiting speakers contributed frequently throughout the semester bringing real-world examples and theoretical insights to the table. The sessions covered urban design and placemaking, SENSEable city technologies, social value creation, real estate value.
Contact Information
- Tony Ciochetti, Chairman, MIT Center for Real Estate - tc@mit.edu
- Dennis Frenchman, Director, City Design and Development Group, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning - dennisf@mit.edu
- David Geltner, Director & Professor of Real Estate Finance - dgeltner@mit.edu
- Michael Joroff, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning - mljoroff@mit.edu
- Bill Mitchell, Head, Program in Media Arts and Sciences - wjm@mit.edu
- Susanne Seitinger, Graduate Student, MIT Media Arts and Sciences - susannes@mit.edu
