Urban Tech Hub Research
About the Urban Tech Hub
The Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech’s Jacobs Institute is where academic research meets the real work of building better cities. We generate applied research, strengthen New York City’s tech ecosystem, and develop the next generation of urban tech leaders — all in service of a single goal: using technology to make cities stronger, fairer, and more resilient.
We work at the intersection of two forces reshaping urban life — the accelerating impacts of climate change and the transformative potential of AI. Through partnerships with academic peers, industry, government, and communities, we take on the issues that cities today can’t afford to get wrong.
Advancing Knowledge Through Applied Urban Innovation
We believe research should do more than advance theory — it should identify urban challenges, demonstrate what’s possible and build the capacity to act on it.
Our applied research identifies ways to optimize urban systems, improve how cities deliver public services, and anticipate the consequences of emerging technologies before they arrive. We pursue that work through three complementary approaches:
Surveys document best practices and trends in urban innovation, measure the economic impact of the urban tech sector, and develop policy recommendations to guide technology deployment in the public interest.
Optimizations build analytical methods to improve the efficiency and equity of core urban systems — buildings, transportation, energy, and health — with a focus on decarbonization and climate resilience.
Explorations investigate emerging needs, new technologies, and the longer-range consequences of urban and technological change — from near-term deployments to more fundamental shifts like artificial general intelligence.
This work draws on Urban Tech Hub staff and fellows, Cornell Tech and Cornell University faculty, students from the Urban Tech master’s program, and a growing network of partners across industry, government, and nonprofits.
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