Be part of the transition towards brighter, better urban landscapes

As part of its commitment to supporting emerging researchers, the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is pleased to announce its contribution to the Association of Graduate Studies in Environmental Design through two student awards. Both honors were presented to Edgard Schnepp, a PhD candidate at the University of Montreal’s School of Environmental Design, in recognition of his research project. Schnepp was selected by two separate juries—one for each award—during the Association’s annual colloquium, 360 degrees, held in March.

We’re excited to share the publication of a new paper by Leandry Jieutsa and Shin Koseki titled “Multilevel Collaborative Governance to Foster Responsible AI Deployment in Cities: Case Studies of eThekwini in South Africa and Thérèse-De Blainville in Quebec.”

In preparation for the UNESCO Studio NOLA, we had the privilege of visiting the exhibition Memoria 2020 “Lorsque les souvenirs ne suffisent plus”: an installation about the Mardi Gras Indians community of New Orleans, and to discuss with its artist, Diva Muanza.

On March 26th, we held our second workshop with our partners as part of the EVADIA+ project. These workshops aim to strengthen organizations’ knowledge and capabilities in AI. During this workshop, participants presented various case studies demonstrating the potential of AI in planning, including tools for generative ideation, urban accessibility audits, landscape design assistance, and more. Important issues were identified, such as potential biases in data, the risk of critical errors, and the need to maintain a balance between the use of AI and the preservation of human creativity.

This year’s focus: New Orleans and its deep connection with water. The Mississippi’s shores reflect the river’s complex identity: a powerful force shaping the city’s economy and culture and a thriving ecosystem, yet also a looming threat with a history of devastation. While control measures often create a physical divide between communities and the water, they also present an opportunity to rethink how human livelihoods and the river can coexist in harmony.

The UNESCO Studio will support the mission and activities of the International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities (ICCAR), a global UNESCO-led network, by providing expert guidance to its 700 member cities. This bilateral commitment marks a significant milestone in the longstanding collaboration between the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape—founder of the UNESCO Studio—and UNESCO’s anti-racism and anti-discrimination programme, which coordinates ICCAR.

Founded in 2003, the UNESCO Studio is a research-action and creative initiative developed by the UNESCO Chair. It has contributed to the transformation of global cities such as Marrakech, Seoul, Évry, Kobe, São Paulo, and Shanghai. Today, the Studio takes on a new mission: supporting cities facing growing threats from the very rivers that have sustained their development. Since 2023, UNESCO Studio experts have worked in Hanoi and Phnom Penh—two major river cities—and will continue their work in 2025 in New Orleans, on the Mississippi.

Launched by UNESCO in 2004, ICCAR supports local governments in addressing discrimination across diverse areas such as education, employment, housing, and cultural life. In line with the New Urban Agenda adopted at Habitat III, ICCAR has become a collective voice for cities tackling the challenges of rapid urbanization, increased human mobility, and deepening social inequalities

The School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture of the University of Montréal will provide support for the upcoming edition of the UNESCO Studio, set to take place in New Orleans in May 2025. This contribution will facilitate the organization of the international initiative and help communicate its outcomes. Thanks to this funding, the UNESCO Studio will be able to present the results of its fieldwork on the Mississippi both in New Orleans and Montreal.

Sinem Guney, master’s student in civil engineering and architecture at the Faculté Polytechnique de Mons in Belgium, joins the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape for a three-month internship. Sinem will be working with the team on the Evadia+ project, focusing on the inclusive design and evaluation of public spaces using AI.

Last fall, the ‘Villes Régions Monde’ (VRM) network launched a writing competition to offer three grants to masters and doctoral students affiliated with the network. Sarah Tannir, graduate from the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, was awarded the grant of $3,000 for the completion of her master’s thesis entitled “Breaking Stigma: The Impact of Urban AI on Citizens’ Mental Health.”

Leandry Jieutsa, doctoral student at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, recently published an article on “Fairness and non-discrimination in urban AI” for CIDOB, the research centre in international relations based in Barcelona.

EVADIA is a research project conducted at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape that aims to use AI to respond to citizen needs in urban planning projects.

It’s a wrap for the Datathink workshop in Spain!

Congratulations to Rashid Mushkani, doctoral student at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, who received the prestigious AI scholarship worth $10,000 from the University of Montréal!

Sarah Tannir, graduate from the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, was awarded second prize for her poster on urban AI and mental health at Obvia’s colloquium “La santé dans tous ses états : Explorer les dynamiques numériques et leurs impacts”. Sarah’s poster stood out for its scientific quality, social contribution, and the accessibility of its content.

Hugo Berard, Postdoc at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, co-organized the Workshop on Creativity and Generative AI at NeurIPS 2024, the annual conference on Neural Information Processing Systems held in Vancouver this past December.