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Kent Larson
Director, City Science Initiative (MIT Media Lab)
Principal Research Scientist
Primary DLC
MIT Media Lab
MIT Room:
E15-368
(617) 253-8799
kll@mit.edu
Areas of Interest and Expertise
Design and Computation Technology
Responsive Urban Housing
Ubiquitous Technologies
Living Lab Experiments
City Science Initiative
Research Summary
Kent Larson directs the City Science Initiative at the MIT Media Laboratory, with research focused on transformable urban housing, mobility-on-demand, responsive technology, and living lab experiments. Larson practiced architecture for 15 years in New York City. His book, Louis I. Kahn: Unbuilt Masterworks was selected as one of the Ten Best Books in Architecture, 2000 by the New York Times Review of Books.
CITY SCIENCE : Larson will propose that urban livability and economic vitality can be significantly improved while, at the same time, resource consumption dramatically reduced. He will present a vision for cities created by a network of compact neighborhoods, or “Resilient Urban Cells,” where: Places of work, culture, shopping, and play are within a 20-minute walk of every resident. Co-working facilities, 3rd places, and shared resources support innovation and entrepreneurship. Transformable, hyper-efficient apartments make urban life affordable for young professionals. Shared alternatives to the private automobile are more convenient, affordable, and pleasurable. Traffic congestion and local sources of air pollution are essentially eliminated. Electrical micro-grids, locally produced renewables, and storage create resilient energy networks. Advanced urban agriculture systems efficiently delivery high-quality produce and solve food security problems. Innovative technology and trust networks enable powerful new applications that improve the life of each resident. He will describe how this vision can be achieved through the integrated application of next-generation design strategies, innovative technology, creative engagement with industry, and enlightened public policy.
(summary updated 6/2013)
Recent Work
Projects
April 21, 2022
MIT Media Lab
Chameleon
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Singapore Pedestrian Accessibility
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Escape Pod
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Andorra | Innovation
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Theme | Changing Places
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
GeoBits
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Andorra | Tourism
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Theme | CityScope
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
GSK Places Initiative
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
GSK Manufacturing Initiative
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
cityIO: Cloud-Based Urban Data Platform
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Torque: Open-Source Autonomous Platform for Educational and Service Design Applications
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Human-Machine Cooperation (HMC) for Lightweight Autonomous Robots
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
City Science Lab Aalto
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Urban Tattoo: Scalable Urban Infrastructure for Human-Machine Cohabitation
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Last Mile Logistics
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
City Science Lab Hamburg
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Service Deployment Simulation and Optimization for Mixed-Use Delivery Fleets
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 13, 2017
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Volpe
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 12, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Andorra | Energy + Environment
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 12, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Andorra | Dynamic Urban Planning
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 25, 2017
MIT Media Lab
Cities Network
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
November 8, 2016
MIT Media Lab
Amoetecture
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
November 8, 2016
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Riyadh
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
August 18, 2016
MIT Media Lab
Roboscooter: Clean, Green Mobility for Today's Crowded Cities
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
August 18, 2016
MIT Media Lab
Greenwhell Electric Bike
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
August 18, 2016
MIT Media Lab
CityScope: Last Mile Logistics
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
August 18, 2016
MIT Media Lab
City I/O: Cloud-Based Urban Data Platform
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 31, 2016
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Andorra: Andorra Living Lab
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 11, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Barcelona
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 11, 2015
MIT Media Lab
Persuasive Cities
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
December 11, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Hamburg
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Mark II: Scout
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Mark III: Dynamic 3D
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Mark I: Real-Time Data Observatory
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Mark IV: Playground
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope BostonBRT
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityScope Walkability Access in Riyadh
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
Persuasive Electric Vehicle (PEV): An Alternative Autonomous Revolution from the Bike Lane
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 12, 2015
MIT Media Lab
ViewCube
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 11, 2015
MIT Media Lab
ARkits: Architectural Robotics Kits
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 11, 2015
MIT Media Lab
CityOffice
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
July 15, 2014
MIT Media Lab
LightByte: Animate the Sunlight
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
January 10, 2014
MIT Media Lab
CityCar: Vehincles for Modern Cities
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
October 4, 2012
MIT Media Lab
FlickInk / MoveInk
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
June 4, 2012
MIT Media Lab
City Science Initiative (CSI): Urban Systems for a Post-Oil, Connected World
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
July 27, 2011
MIT Media Lab
Context-Aware Dynamic Lighting
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
July 27, 2011
MIT Media Lab
Wockets: Real-Time Activity Recognition on Mobile Phones
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
November 3, 2008
MIT Media Lab
Theme | Mobility-on-Demand
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
August 25, 2008
MIT Media Lab
MIT Smart Customization Group (SCG)
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
May 14, 2003
MIT Media Lab
BoxLab / PlaceLab
Principal Investigator
Kent Larson
Video
10.25.23-Digital- Lightning-Larson
October 25, 2023
Conference Video
Duration: 12:28
Show more
Lightning Talk
10.25.23-Digital-Lightning-Talks
October 25, 2023
Conference Video
Duration: 87:47
Show more
Lightning Talks
Kent Larson - RD2017
November 22, 2017
Conference Video
Duration: 37:3
Show more
City of the future: how changes to physical and digital infrastructure will effect and be effected by mobility
2017 MIT Research and Development Conference
Related Faculty
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Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
Dr. Katlyn Turner
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Xiao Xiao
Research Affiliate