Projects

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis has transformed the importance of smart cities, highlighting the vital role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in crisis management and post-pandemic life. Originally a branding strategy, smart city technologies are now essential infrastructure facilitating remote work and online interactions. This urgency has prompted urban planners… read more 

Abstract: Traffic forecasting is vital for urban planning, with deep learning methods excelling in capturing traffic patterns. However, obtaining comprehensive historical data remains challenging, especially for city-wide predictions. To overcome this, we used SceneGCN, a deep learning approach, for city-scale traffic speed forecasting. This method involves extracting scene features from… read more 

Abstract: This study examined three AI image synthesis models—Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney—for generating urban design imagery from scene descriptions. 240 images were evaluated using a modified Sensibleness and Specificity Average (SSA) metric by two independent evaluators. Results revealed significant differences among the AI models, with varying scores across… read more 

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of technology-based corporation relocations on housing prices during COVID-19 in Austin, Texas, and Seattle/Bellevue, Washington, focusing on Tesla and Amazon. Using a difference-in-difference (DID) method, changes in housing prices near and away from the new corporate locations are analyzed within 5-mile and 10-mile radii.… read more 

Abstract: In our study, we utilized GIS to analyze hospital visitor data from January to June of 2019 and 2020, focusing on the impact of the initial COVID-19 wave. We found that while most demographic groups experienced shifts in visitor levels, American Indian and Pacific Islander groups sometimes showed no… read more 

Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that pedestrians and bicyclists are exposed to substantial levels of harmful air pollutants, including particulate matter and carbon monoxide, during their daily commutes. Disposable and cloth face masks are well-known personal interventions for pedestrian and bicyclist pollutant exposure. However, there is a lack… read more 

Abstract: Peer-to-peer ridesharing, as a new travel mode, could be a potential solution to two major transportation issues: congestion and air pollution by reducing inefficient driving and promoting public transit ridership. Uber, as one of the leader transport network company, launched in San Francisco in 2010 and expanded around the… read more 

Abstract Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft have become popular forms of transportation in recent years. Researchers have worked to understand the qualitative impacts of these services, such as effects on the taxi industry, spatial and temporal distribution in cities, and effects on public transit; however, few studies… read more 

Abstract: Public transit has been proven as an affordable travel method, while the inequitable distribution is a rising concern among practitioners and researchers. A transit desert, based on the demand and supply concept in measuring the mismatch in allocating the level of public transit service, has proved its ability to… read more