Urban Technology at University of Michigan week 180
Welcoming Batch Three
Happy belated new year, friends! One hundred and four weeks ago we welcomed the very first batch of students to the Urban Technology major and I told them, “You’re the true believers.” Fifty three weeks ago we welcomed our second batch and my message was, “Thank you for proving to all of us that we’re not crazy.” This week batch three arrived, tipping us over the 100 headcount mark and I could venture what will likely become on ongoing message to newcomers: “Welcome to the party!”
It was a busy week of good times. New faces, but also new courses and new experiences in old courses. We launched the first iteration of our Service Design studio course, expanded the Design Inquiries studio from one section to two, moved into a newly renovated studio space, and had the Urban Technology Student Organization officially represented at an event for the first time (more on these in future issues).
As for this newsletter, if you’re new here, welcome to you too. We write about a mix of activities at the University, observations of the tech economy, novel approaches to innovation, things we love, travels far and wide, fascinating people, broken systems, and possible futures.
💬 Hello! This is the newsletter of the Urban Technology program at University of Michigan, in which we explore the ways that data, connectivity, computation, and automation can be harnessed to nurture and improve urban life. If you’re new here, try this short video of current students describing urban technology in their own words.
☘️ Growth
Each semester I am reminded that a degree program is a great example of service design, which is the subject of an important course in our curriculum. Every year we’re layering on new elements to the student experience as we learn what messages need to be heard, by whom, and when. This semester as part of the welcome lunch for the happy folks pictured above we did a “degree preview” outlining all of the required courses and describing how they fit together. That presentation started with a definition of urban technology, naturally.
Urban technology is the study of how tech effects the way that cities are seen, shaped, and served. In UT 101 students survey different moments in history when “technology” could have been used to describe indoor plumbing, or wireless communication, or simply a paved road. For us, it’s important to recognize that the definition of what’s considered technology evolves over time, but our primary focus is on contemporary technology. This means: data, computation, connectivity (internet!), and automation. And we care about place, which means: rooms, buildings, streets, districts, neighborhoods, and regions.
Our work is to research and imagine creative uses of contemporary technology that build cities as and into places that people love. One of the things I most enjoy about being at the academy is that every student will bring their own perspective to a phrase like “places that people love.” The plurality makes the party.
🖼️ Postcard from the Studio
Wiggle bench: check. Soft seating: check. Magnetic whiteboards on wheels: check. We’re dialing this thing in.
🏋️ Are you hiring for summer 2024? Reply to this email if you’re interested in urban technology student interns. They have skills in UX design, service design, python, javascript and a zeal for urban challenges.
These weeks: New students, new studio space, new courses. Troubleshooting and adapting, which is easy to do when you have clarity of purpose: students connecting, innovating, exploring, growing. 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃