On 20 September, Ana Cocho-Bermejo, a lecturer in the UIC Barcelona School of Architecture, took part in the ninth edition of the European Research in Architecture and Urbanism (EURAU) congress, organised by the University of Alicante under the title “Retroactive Research: Architecture’s capacity to challenge and extend the limits of other disciplines”.

As part of the congress, Ana Cocho presented a paper entitled “Urban Design vs. Science of Cities: From the Digital Gap to the Artificial Intelligence Barrier”, which she co-authored alongside fellow School lecturer Diego Navarro.

During the presentation, Ana Cocho-Bermejo discussed the challenges that the implementation of artificial intelligence algorithms in city design poses for architects and urban designers. “By looking at the process of change from the digital gap to the artificial intelligence barrier, you see most projects are being led by small groups of researchers in Western countries. The studies performed thus far are based on individual samples that do not take into account factors such as age, race or social condition”, remarks Cocho-Bermejo.  

European Research in Architecture and Urbanism (EURAU) is a network of schools and researchers in Architecture and Urbanism that meets biannually in an international symposium to share research and contribute to the Europe 2020 Strategy towards a smart, sustainable and inclusive society.