Urban Studies

We need a better understanding of urban life to build new design tools.

Urban Studies
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About

Our work primarily revolves around research and development of design computation tools. However, a considerable portion of our efforts is dedicated to studying people and cities. We explore the impact of smart technologies on power structures within smart cities, examine neoliberal business models of urban renewal, and investigate the spatial appearance of religious communities and issues of gentrification in Israel.

Overall, our curiosity spans various aspects of cities, technologies, and culture, deepening our understanding of urban environments and informing our AI research.

Papers

2025 Publication

Addressing Religious Architectural Restrictions with Computer Code: A Genetic Algorithm Approach

Jonathan Dortheimer, Gaya Bitman
  • Venue CAADRIA 2025
  • AI-Assisted Design
  • Urban Studies
2025 Publication

Power and Ethical Concerns in the Integration of Smart City Technologies: A Case Study of Parking Payment Applications in Israel

Jonathan Dortheimer, Gilad Chalfon
  • Venue Journal of Urban Technology
  • Urban Studies
  • Urban Digital Twins
2022 Publication

Of Stones and Words - Computational Framework for Multifaceted Historical Narration of Wadi Salib

Eytan Mann, Jonathan Dortheimer, Alona Nitzan-Shiftan, Aaron Sprecher
  • Venue CAADRIA 2023
  • Urban Studies
  • AI-Assisted Design
2022 Publication

Toward a Generative Pipeline for an AR Tour of Contested Heritage Sites

Eytan Mann, Jonathan Dortheimer, Aaron Sprecher
  • Venue IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality
  • Urban Studies
  • AI-Assisted Design
2022 Publication

A machine learning approach to urban design interventions in non-planned settlements

Anna Boim, Jonathan Dortheimer, Aaron Sprecher
  • Venue CAADRIA 2022
  • Urban AI
  • Urban Studies
2020 Publication

Open-source architecture and questions of intellectual property, tacit knowledge and liability

Jonathan Dortheimer, Talia Margalit
  • Venue The Journal of Architecture
  • Urban Studies
2017 Publication

Open Source Architecture: Challenges and opportunities

Jonathan Dortheimer
  • Venue Tel Aviv University
  • Urban Studies