What is a Smart City?
While several definitions exist, the common threat uniting them is the Smart City's principal mission, namely optimizing city functions and driving economic growth while improving quality of life. This involves improving access to the city's various services, enhancing safety and reducing pollution using smart technology and data analysis. Smart cities are places with the ability to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) and people in public areas to enhance the learning, knowledge and quality of life of their residents, facilitating social, cultural and urban development. They are perceived as geographic networks that combine technological advances with collaborative innovation between the main stakeholders in the urban environment: residents, local and central government, industry, university, and third sector organizations.
Urban informatics is grounded in a suite of tools and methods that enable us to capitalize on the latest advances in technology for capturing, storing, processing and analyzing urban spatial information and presenting it as dynamic and visual entities such as 3D maps, multilayer databases and dashboards. A big part of being a Smart City is the use of new, digital technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve municipal processes and civic technology for the benefit of urban residents. Urban Informatics is crucial in this process. When applied to urban issues, geo-data is crucial for a better understanding of human interactions with the city. This is especially the case when migration to cities is rapid, creating all kinds of challenges from pandemics to traffic congestion, air pollution and poverty. Any model of the Smart City needs to rely on up to date science and technology to analyze data spatially.
Smart Cities and Urban Informatics (SCUI) - 2023/2024
Smart Cities Schedule | Smart Cities Catalog of Courses
REQUIRED COURSES (15 credits)
01502 | GIS and Urban Informatics (3)A - Mr Guy Keren
01505 | Urban Remote Sensing* (2)A - Prof. Noam Levin
01507 | Urban Planning: From Modernism to Urbanism and Smart Growth* (2)A - Prof. Eran Razin
40996 | Smart Cities: Technological and Social Aspects of Urban Innovation (2)A - Prof. (Arch) Rafi Rich
01509 | Spatial Justice and Smart Cities (2)B - Dr. Rani Mandelbaum
01516 | Field Course: Transitioning to Smart City Growth: Jerusalem: between Tradition and Innovation (2)A - Dr. Na’amah Hagiladi
01551 | Seminar in Smart Cities* (2)A - Prof. Daniel Felsenstein
METHODS AND TOOLS (10 credits)
01508 | Python Pograming (2)A - Dr Royi Zidon
01682 | Machine Learning Applications for Smart Cities (2)B - Dr Royi Zidon
01649 | Data Analytics for Urban Policy (2)B - Dr Talia Kaufmann
40123 | Urban Simulation* (2)B - Dr. Yair Grinberger
40994 | Data Project: Data for Managing the Smart City* (2)B - Dr. Amit Birenboim
THEMATIC COURSES (10 credits)
01524 | Smart Transportation Systems (2)B - Eng. Jay Kaplan
01683 | Making the City Smart: Topics in Urba Transformation (2)B – Dr Ronit Purian
40995 | Quality of Life in the Smart City* - Dr. Amit Birenboim (2)B
01533 | Smart Cities and Sustainable Mobility Ecosystems (2)B - Dr Maya Ben Dror (condensed course)
40997 | Integrative Smart Cities Project (2)B - Prof. (Arch). Rafi Rich
Program is subject to change
Credits in parentheses
A/B= semester
* courses in which a seminar paper can be written. Seminar paper adds 4 further credits to course.
Total credits = 39
The MA program offers the possibility of a Research (Thesis) Track. All students are automatically accepted for the non-research track. At the end of the first semester students can apply to move to the thesis track. Students accepted to this track are exempt from writing a seminar paper but need to enroll for the 'Personal Supervision' course (4 credits) in the second year of their studies. The full Thesis Track protocol can be found here. A Step-by Step guide to registering for the thesis track can be found here.