Tyler Spitzer-Wu


// University of Michigan
// B.S. Urban Technology
// Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
// Minors in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship
// Class of 2027

I am interested in the use of technology in the built environment to improve the quality of life of those who interact with it. I am fascinated with cities as centers of innovation, culture, and economy with unparalleled vitality. I aspire to use my programming skills, design intuition, and entrepreneurial attitude as a practitioner creating positive and meaningful change within and between cities and communities.


tylersw@umich.edu
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FOR CEDAR

Two Cities in Two Minutes

UT 101: Why Cities?
APR 2024



// Adobe Premiere Pro
// critical analysis, narration, argumentative analysisFor the final project of our introductory Urban Technology course, we were tasked with creating a two-minute video comparing two cities through their use of a certain urban technology.

I chose to compare earthquake-resistant infrastructure in Taipei, Taiwan and Marrakech, Morocco. Both of these cities had recently experienced major earthquakes, but the effects each quake had on each city were drastically different. Through my research, I learned that both cities had seismic building codes in place but with different levels of enforcement of these codes. Taipei’s diligence in enforcing these codes resulted in a largely unchanged urban fabric following their earthquake, while Marrakech’s negligence to enforce their codes resulted in mass devastation.

In the case of essential urban technologies, such as earthquake-resistant infrastructure in seismic hazard zones, the enforcement of their implementation is vital to a city’s overall well-being. The comparison between Taipei and Marrakech illustrates the effect of a city not having the governmental structures, economic ability, or appropriate culture to actually make use of and implement an urban technology. Therefore, the success of an urban technology depends not only upon the effectiveness of the technology, but also the ability of a city government to comprehensively implement it.

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