Abu Dhabi and MIT deepen research partnership to advance urban liveability and sustainable city design

The Department of Municipalities and Transport has expanded its collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Senseable City Lab, bringing artificial intelligence and cutting-edge research to bear on traffic emissions, urban heat and pedestrian health across the emirate.

The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) has significantly expanded its partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to translate urban research into tangible improvements that enhance daily life across Abu Dhabi. The renewed agreement, signed by Fatema Al Mutawa, Acting Executive Director of DMT’s Strategy Sector, and Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT Senseable City Lab, was formalised on the opening day of LIVEX 2026, the Liveability and Investment Exhibition, cementing Abu Dhabi’s position as a laboratory for innovative urban solutions.

Building on established foundations

The expanded collaboration builds upon research collaboration established in 2024, with DMT continuing its membership in the prestigious MIT Senseable City Consortium. The next phase of work operates under the DMT Future Hub, a research and innovation platform launched to connect institutional knowledge with real-world urban challenges. The partnership sustains ongoing investigations into traffic emissions, pedestrian exposure to air pollution, urban heat dynamics and mobility patterns, whilst opening new frontiers in environmental technology and urban design.

Artificial intelligence transforming urban analysis

Two proofs of concept developed through the collaboration are nearing completion, demonstrating the practical application of advanced technology to urban planning. Emission AI harnesses dashcam footage and machine learning algorithms to estimate vehicle emissions with unprecedented accuracy, whilst Exposure AI assesses the degree to which pedestrians encounter traffic pollution on city streets. Together, these projects generate an empirical foundation for evidence-based decision-making in cleaner mobility and healthier street design, directly informing how Abu Dhabi shapes its urban environment.

Expanding research horizons

Proposed new initiatives reflect the partnership’s ambition to address interconnected urban challenges. ‘Trees in My Backyard’ and ‘Re-Leaf’ would employ artificial intelligence to guide tree selection and planting strategies, creating cooler and more biodiverse public spaces. A third initiative, ‘Stellar Oasis’, investigates methods to reduce light pollution and restore visibility of the night sky—a particularly significant consideration for a modern city committed to environmental stewardship. These projects represent a deliberate shift toward connecting environmental analysis with the decisions that shape neighbourhood planning and public space management.

International recognition and impact

The collaboration has already generated substantial scholarly impact. A study featuring Abu Dhabi, ‘Estimating vehicular emissions by applying deep learning on video camera scenes,’ appeared in Communications Engineering on 23 September 2026. DMT was additionally acknowledged as a consortium supporter in ‘Ubiquitous data-driven framework for traffic emission estimation and policy evaluation,’ published in Nature Sustainability on 2 April 2026. This peer-reviewed research positions Abu Dhabi within the global conversation on sustainable urban development.

DMT’s participation in the MIT Senseable City Lab Global Conference held alongside the Venice Biennale in 2025 exemplified the partnership’s international standing. The conference convened 150 participants representing 48 MIT partner institutions, providing a prestigious platform to showcase the Visual AI Emission project and Abu Dhabi’s commitment to research-driven urbanism. This international visibility reinforces the emirate’s reputation as a centre for applied urban innovation.

Aligning with strategic priorities

The expanded partnership’s scope aligns seamlessly with LIVEX 2026’s thematic focus on people-centred artificial intelligence, urban mobility and the creation of healthier cities. DMT Future Hub, established in 2024, continues to evolve as the institutional vehicle for this work, bringing together research capacity, data analysis capabilities and knowledge exchange through partnerships with leading academic and research institutions. The renewed MIT collaboration supports this expansion, with deliberate emphasis on translating research into the practical decisions that determine quality of life across Abu Dhabi.

Source: Abu Dhabi Media Office