Smart Cities
Enabling communities to improve built infrastructure and resources through cyber technologies.
Many of the systems that civil and environmental engineers design, build, and maintain are going through a revolution involving the adoption of technological advances. These advances include the Internet of Things for real-time and ubiquitous sensing, computer control and automation to create adaptive and cyber-physical infrastructure systems, virtual and augmented reality for creating digital twins, and new machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches for simulation and prediction.
Smart cities approaches that take advance of these technological advances include creating more adaptive infrastructure systems, such as smart buildings, smart roads, or smart stormwater systems, which adapt to current or future conditions. There are unique challenges associated with bringing these technical advances to cities and communities, including ensuring the adoption of technology is trusted by residents and does not become an instrument for harm through surveillance or bias. Across all civil and environmental engineering subfields, our department is working to advance technology for the public’s best interests so it can best serve societal needs while also limiting harmful impacts.