Keynote explores the physics and complexity of growing cities
© 2026 EPFL
Prof. Gabriele Manoli delivered a keynote speech at the 4th International Conference on Urban Science and Intelligence (ICUSI 2026), held on 8–9 August at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).
The conference brought together researchers from leading institutions around the world to explore emerging approaches to urban science, with a particular focus on the growing intersection of cities, artificial intelligence, complex systems, and interdisciplinary research. The programme featured scholars from institutions including University College London, the University of Oxford, the University of Chicago, Cornell University, Columbia University, Tsinghua University, and the National University of Singapore.
In his keynote, Manoli discussed how mathematical modelling, statistical physics, and data-driven approaches can shed new light on the dynamics of urban growth. He highlighted the recent work of URBES on the evolution of cities and the importance of identifying general principles that connect urban systems with other complex systems in nature.
The ICUSI 2026 programme reflects this increasingly interdisciplinary vision of urban science, bringing together research on urban computing, artificial intelligence, computational social science, data science, climate change, public health, and complex systems. The conference also featured dedicated discussions on emerging AI-enabled approaches, including large language models, intelligent agents, and urban world models.