Be part of the transition towards brighter, better urban landscapes

Sarah worked as a research and communications assistant at the UNESCO Chair for over three years (2022-2025). Her master’s thesis, realized at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, explored how the rise of AI in urban environments impacts citizens’ mental health; particularly focusing on those who have anxiety and depression in Montréal. Her research received up to five grants and awards, including a scholarship from OBVIA (the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies); as part of Supporting the Next Generation Scholarship Program.

For this Episode 5, “Living Winter: Smart and Inclusive Spaces,” Leandry and Roxane welcome Victor Bouguin, who works at Vivre en Ville and is an expert in winter urban planning.

Discover our latest episode, “Urban Mobility: AI in Motion,” hosted by Leandry Jieutsa and featuring Eddy Nono, collaborator at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape.

Last November, Eddy Nono took part in the Scientific Exchange Day in Chicoutimi, on the theme:
”Territorial Governance and Social, Economic, Political, and Environmental Changes: Challenges, Actors, and Solutions”, an event sponsored by the Laboratory of Alternative Governance (LAGORA).

Last November marked the closing conference of the EVADIA+ and CAIAG projects, entitled “AI, Public Space, and Citizen Participation.” 
The event presented the results of both projects through two panel discussions: one on AI and citizen participation, and the other on AI and public spaces.

Originally shown at the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design in New Orleans, it is now on display at the pavilion of the Faculty of Environmental Design at the Université de Montréal.

Rivers in Commons — a global initiative spearheaded by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape — has received the Living With River Label, an international designation for projects “that speaks of possibilities and shares enthusiasm” about continental rivers. The labeling of the of Rivers in Common took place during an online ceremony that gathered projects from all around the world.

Sirine Sellami is a PhD candidate at the Institut des Arts et Métiers of Sfax, Tunisia. She is joining the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape for a three-month internship.

As the semester comes to an end, the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape wishes you a wonderful holiday season!

Frédérique Roy, a master’s student in urban planning and collaborator with the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, presented her research at the IDES Annual Conference “Resistance and Agency in the Digital Society: Beyond Literacy, Transparency, and Risk Assessment”, at the University of Lausanne.

Rashid Mushkani is the award recipient of the 3rd edition of the Faculty “Jeunes chercheurs, jeunes chercheuses : votre voix dans l’espace public.” competition. This distinction includes a $10,000 grant to support the dissemination of his research to the general public and policymakers over the coming year.

Hosted by Leandry Jieutsa and Roxane Kasprzyk, this episode titled
“Rethinking the City Through Universal Design” features Pierre-Étienne Gendron-Landry, Head of Société Logique, as a guest.

Episode 2 is now live! For this episode, “Designing the City - Between Social and Digital”, Leandry Jieutsa welcomes Shin Koseki, Director and Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, as well as Assistant Professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Montreal. His work focuses on designing responsible artificial intelligence systems for cities.

We invite you to discover Episode 1: “AI: Between Science and Imagination”, featuring Hugo Bérard, postdoctoral researcher at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape.
He explores the tools of artificial intelligence in planning… but not only!

Congrats to Eddy !

The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is launching its podcast series!

On October 22, 2025, the SOUR Podcast featured Rashid Mushkani (Lecturer, Université de Montréal; Researcher, Mila—Québec AI Institute) for a deep dive into co‑produced and public AI for cities. The conversation explores participatory datasets, pluralistic alignment, and governance grounded in data rights and data sovereignty—concrete ways to ensure AI reflects the values of the people it affects, rather than overwriting local knowledge.

At the end of October, Eddy Nono presented a poster titled “AI for Urban Mobility: The Role of Citizen Participation” at the IVADO Digital Futures event.

On November 26, the closing conference of the EVADIA+ and CAIAG projects will take place, under the theme:
“AI, Public Space and Citizen Participation.”

Looking Back at the International Conference “Climate Action and Transitions: Perspectives from Québec and France”

A new member of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape and a Master’s student in Urban Planning, Jennifer is conducting her research under the supervision of Shin Koseki. Her work focuses on the social impacts of artificial intelligence in citizen participation processes related to urban planning.

Adèle Kremer, a UNESCO Chair Alumni graduate student (2022–2025), has joined the prestigious ETH joint Master of Advanced Studies in Urban and Territorial Design (MAS UTD) at ETH/EPFL.. The one-year program, led and conceived by Paola Viganò and Milica Topalovic, “engages with notions of transformation, reuse, circularity, regeneration, reparation, and transition of habitats and ecologies to deploy the urban and territorial project as a means to explore common epistemic horizons and new biopolitical paradigms, and as a crucial field of knowledge production across scales.“

New member of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape!

Dr. Shin Koseki, Professor at the Université de Montréal and holder of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, publishes a new article in the latest issue of Urbanité, the magazine of the Ordre des urbanistes du Québec. Known for his work on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) in cities, Dr. Koseki reflects on how urban planners can help ensure that AI technologies serve democratic, inclusive, and ecological goals rather than amplify social or environmental risks.

The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is proud to announce the publication of a new chapter by Aleksandra Mostovaja and Shin Koseki in the forthcoming volume … but, who are we building for?, published by Building Diversity and the Danish Architectural Press. This second book by Building Diversity brings together more than thirty international contributions that critically reflect on inclusivity, equity, and belonging in architecture and the built environment.

The IVADO consortium on research on AI has confirmed the appointment of Professor Shin Koseki, holder of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the Université de Montréal, as an IVADO Researcher. This five-year affiliation integrates him into a leading scientific community bringing together researchers in artificial intelligence, data science, and optimization.

The Evadia+ team of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape had the pleasure of leading the AI Freskworkshop, proposed by Frédérique Roy and Hugo Berard during a collaborative session.

In Habitat International (Vol. 164, Oct 2025), Rashid Mushkani and Shin Koseki present Street Review, a participatory method that blends interviews, focus groups, and a structured image-rating exercise to assess 20 Montréal streets (60 vantage points) across four criteria: Accessibility, Inclusivity, Aesthetics, Practicality.

Happy back-to-school season to all!

Applause for Andreanne Bernard!