UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape
at the University of Montréal
Prof. Shin Koseki, DSc.
A new working report on digital governance in cities derived from the Chair’s series of online seminar Insights Into.
UdeM international funds three of the Chair’s projects that push the boundaries of international research, teaching and cooperation.
The Mila Board of Directors have appointed Shin Koseki as Affiliate Member for 2023-2026. This appointment consolidates the numerous collaborations between the UNESCO Chair and the world-renowned non-profit organization on the development of responsible artificial intelligence systems (AIS) for and by cities.
Rashid Mushkani, doctoral student at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, presented his research at the “Benchmarking Spatial Justice in Policymaking, Planning and Design” Symposium.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is organizing a roundtable conference on December 6th from 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. with Jérôme Chenal, director of the “Excellence en Afrique” Center, a research unit in regional and urban planning at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL); and Prof. Shin Koseki, Director of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape.
The collaboration between the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape and the Hanoi Architectural University has led to the signing of an agreement between the prestigious university in Vietnam and the Faculty of Environmental design of the University of Montreal.
For nine days, master’s students at the Faculty of Planning at the University of Montreal visited the Great Lakes region to discover the riverine landscapes of northern Ontario. This trip falls under the Fluvialities research project carried out at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, and the Urban Design studio, taught at the master’s level by Shin Koseki, holder of the UNESCO Chair and professor at the School urban planning and landscape architecture.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape and L’ENSEMBLE receive noteworthy funding from the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Énergie du Québec (MEIE).
On Tuesday October 10th, the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape celebrated the unveiling of the Nplex web platform, an initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montreal.
After twenty years of collaboration, UNESCO and the University of Montreal are renewing the mandate of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape led by Shin Koseki.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is organizing a series of multidisciplinary discussions on the challenges of emerging technologies in cities, entitled INSIGHTS INTO. Through the experiences and points of view of researchers, professionals and citizens, INSIGHTS INTO will address the issues of the city in the era of emerging technologies in a transversal and holistic way.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is pleased to announce that NULAB, the project for digital knowledge, has been selected by the Vice-Rectorate for Student Affairs and Studies of the University of Montreal to receive a funding worth $24,351.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape from the University of Montreal participated in the “Avenir Maritime” Congress organized by the Quebec Maritime Network. This event was held from June 20th to 22nd, 2023 at the Port of Quebec. This was an opportunity for Shin Koseki, the Chair’s director, and four interns to meet various actors of the maritime network and learn more about marine resources, the health of ecosystems and human communities.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape is pleased to announce that Ms. Chloé Henri‘s project entitled “Enraciner la transmission cul-turelle Nehirowisi“, realised as part of the Master’s programe in landscape architecture ( APA6014) and under the direction of Prof. Nicole Valois, is the recipient of the Sid Lee Architecture Master’s Award of $5,000.
Economic flourishing, sustainability and social inclusion should always go hand in hand. This idea has driven the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the University of Montreal to organize the 13th edition of the Workshop Atelier Terrain UNESCO (WAT UNESCO) on “Designing an Inclusive and Sustainable Creative Economy in Hanoi”. The workshop will occur from 8 to 19 May 2023 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, member city of the International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities of UNESCO (ICCAR).
The two-week WAT UNESCO in Hanoi was marked by a visit to the Canadian Embassy in Hanoi. On May 15th 2023, participating students from University of Montreal met with Mr. Shawn Steil, Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam, to discuss about the role of Canada in Vietnam and the importance of initiatives like the WAT UNESCO, organized by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the University of Montreal. One of the objectives of this year’s workshop, as stated by Prof. Shin Koseki, director of the Chair, is to find tangible and creative solutions for the inclusive and sustainable development of Hanoi’s Red river. The collaboration between students, local and international researchers, urban planners, landscape architects, policy experts as well as communties from the local population and authorities, will result in a final master plan showing a new vision to the city’s development surrounding the Red river and its inhabitants.
Frédérique Roy, a master’s student in urban planning, received a $40,000 scholarship to develop research on the impact of urban technologies on anonymity. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from Polytechnique Montréal, Ms. Roy is leading this project under the direction of Shin Koseki.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape presents this week the research of Roxane Kasprzyk, master’s student in Planning.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the University of Montreal has received a new funding of $30,000 from the Vice-rectorate for Planning and Strategic Communication of the University of Montreal, to develop an Inclusive UX IA protocol, as part of the EDI 2023 call for projects of the Montreal Declaration for the responsible development of AI.
Gathered in Venice for a workshop on social inclusion in cities, five UNESCO chair holders have agreed to launch a new working group on inclusive cities. The groups, which is headed by Shin Koseki, UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montréal (Canada), brings together the UNESCO Chairs in Inclusive Urbanism at the University of Chicago (United States), in Social and Spatial Integration of Migrants at the Iuav University of Venice (Italy), in the Right to Housing at the University Rovira I Virgili (Spain) and in Vulnerability and Social Inclusion at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (Mexico).
Digital technology plays a preponderant role in the production processes of urban and architectural space, well beyond computer-aided design tools. The digital traces left by everyone, artificial intelligence systems, and telecommunications infrastructures are changing our relationship to the world, to the city and to the individual. Despite this increased dependence on digital data and services, designers and planners remain few tools to understand their current and future impact on the natural, social and integrated environment.
The Unesco Chair in Urban Landscape is organizing a research day to share knowledge on inclusive processes in the fields of planning and artificial intelligence. The event will take place on Wednesday, March 29th (from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), at the Pavillon Marguerite d’Youville (559A) – room 4113 at the University of Montreal.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape presents this week the research of Andréanne Bernard, master’s student in Planning.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape welcomes Cassandre Chatonnier, scenographer, researcher and teacher.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape welcomes Leandry Jieutsa, doctoral student in digital urban governance who will be working under the supervision of Shin Koseki. Leandry will contribute to several research projects, including an intersectoral study on the impact of 5G antennas on the urban landscape, developed in collaboration with Tarik Djefari (INRS) and Guillaume Sasseville (UQÀM). Leandry will also take over the animation and coordination of the Environment, Smart City, Territory and Mobility axis at OBVIA – International Observatory of the Societal Impacts of Artificial Intelligence.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape awarded its “Coup de Cœur” Sid Lee Architecture prizes to four student projects carried out in different study programs at UdeM’s Faculty of Environmental Design; highlighting the excellence of their work. Each prize was also accompanied by a scholarship of 600$, offered to the winners thanks to the Sid Lee Architecture Fund.
As part of the announcement of a UN Habitat office in Montreal, Shin Koseki met Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the Human Settlements Program of the intergovernmental organization. A first meeting between Ms. Sharif and Mr. Koseki — holder of the UNESCO Chair in urban landscape and professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture of the University of Montreal — was held last december in downtown Montreal; accompanied by the UN Habitat management team and Raphaël Fischler, Dean of the Faculty of Planning at the University. A second meeting Friday morning, organized by Montreal International, also brought together public organizations, large companies and institutions, including the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, around Ms. Sharif and her team.
Shin Koseki, Director of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montreal, was the guest invitee of the Rives seminar organized by the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. Co-organized by François Guillemette, holder of the CR UQTR research chair in the ecology of the St. Lawrence river, the seminar offered a cross-sectional and intersectoral look at the river and its issues.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape of the University of Montreal has obtained support from the University of Montreal and the Ministry of Higher Education for its Nplex project carried out in collaboration with the City of Montreal. This new funding of $37,500 was granted under the Partnership-UdeM program, which aims to encourage partnerships with private companies or public organizations in order to promote the adoption of social and technological innovations in the practices of lessees and users.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape presents this week the arrival of its new member, Amal Gherbi-Rahal.
Adèle Kremer, master’s student in Environmental Design at the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, received a “master’s discovery” scholarship worth 5,000$ from the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies of the University of Montreal.
UNESCO welcomed its research chairs from around the world to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the UNITWIN program which sponsors them. The event, which took place on November 3rd and 4th at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, was an opportunity for the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape to reconnect with its international counterparts. The program included: meetings with the UNESCO Chairs of Canada and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, and a meeting of the UNESCO Chairs of Quebec in company with the national delegation and workshops on the protection of culture, and the development of new international initiatives.
The UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape presents this week the arrival of Dr. Toumadher Ammar as postdoctoral researcher on the project AI DEI Public Space
For a week, researchers and students from the University of Montreal surveyed the west coast of the island of Terre-neuve, visiting historical and heritage sites, natural parks, ecological reserves, geological wonders, hidden rivers, secret beaches and abandoned villages. The trip was organized as part of the Fluvialities research project led by the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape, and the master’s level workshop in urban design taught by Shin Koseki, director holder of the UNESCO Chair and professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, and Émile Forest, in charge of practical training; and in the collaboration with Duncan McIlroy, professor at Memorial University and director of the Bonne Bay Aquarium and Research Station.
Divided into four parts, the guide first addresses the general issues of artificial intelligence today, and in particular in urbanized environments and cities; followed by a series of case studies and warnings relating to the deployment of AI systems in urban contexts. A particular innovation of this report consists in the establishment of a typology of risks related to AI in cities and beyond. The document ends with a series of strategic recommendations that can already be implemented by municipalities around the world, regardless of their size or level of technical development.
Promoting peace and collaboration through research was the mission given to UNESCO when it was first founded in 1945. And it is within this framework that Shin Koseki, Director and Holder of the UNESCO Chair in Urban Landscape at the University of Montreal , traveled to Paris during the week of September 25th to meet several diplomats and collaborators of this International Organization. With the support of the Delegation of Canada to UNESCO and its representative of the Government of Quebec, Shin Koseki met with ambassadors of Vietnam and Cambodia. The aim of this exchange being the WAT UNESCO, an international research and teaching activity implemented by the UNESCO Chair since 2003. The next editions will take place in Hanoi in 2023 and in Phnom Penh in 2024.
Paris, 22 février 2021 : L’Organisation pour l’éducation, la science et la culture des Nations Unies nomme le professeur Shin Koseki directeur titulaire de la Chaire UNESCO en paysage urbain à l’Université de Montréal. Cette nomination fait suite au départ à la retraite de Philippe Poullaouec-Gonidec qui avait fondé la chaire en 2003.