Meet our Featured Researcher, Dr. Anil Yazici
Dr. Yazici has several new and exciting projects in progress. Here he is to explain one of the biggest endeavors he's working on at this time, the Research Coordination Network (RCN).
Dr. Yazici’s research focuses mainly on smart cities, resilience and emergency operations,
transportation network modeling, and transportation economics. His latest project,
“One Bridge at a Time: Bridging the Digital Divide for the Well-Being of Aging Populations
in Smart and Connected Communities”, advances his research on smart cities. The project is a Research Coordination Network
(RCN) funded by National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities
program. The objective of the Network is to develop a collaborative, multidisciplinary research platform to study the relationship
between the Smart and Connected Communities program and the built environment (e.g., varying urban densities). An additional key RCN
goal is creating Smart and Connected Communities that incorporate the aging population, with the broader goal of including all segments
of society.
To achieve truly smart and connected communities, it is crucial to understand not only the needs of the entire community but also the devices necessary to respond to those needs to improve quality of life. On the community side, community characteristics (e.g., demographics, socioeconomic factors) shape the societal needs. Even for similar community segments and needs, urbanization and land use patterns (i.e. urban vs. suburban) add additional layers of complexity and influence the required services and necessary connectedness for a community’s economic, physical and social health.
Meanwhile, smart-ness and connected-ness rely heavily on technology. Insufficient or inadequate internet access in low density areas can become the bottleneck to implementing smart solutions. Even when the technological infrastructure is up-to-date and functioning, catching up with the dynamic change in technological developments creates additional challenges to achieving Smart and Connected Communities program goals. For example, smartphone apps are considered to be a key tool for connectivity. For nearly every activity requiring access to information, the smart phone can be of assistance. As the popular saying goes: “There is an app for that!” However, disadvantaged populations with limited income, lack of knowledge, cognitive and physical impairment, or language barriers cannot fully utilize these apps and may not receive the full benefits of this connectivity. These challenges contribute to the “digital divide” which is roughly defined as the gap in access opportunities to technological tools. The digital divide has been researched in various fields (e.g. sociology, psychology, communication) with a focus on different society segments (e.g. aging population, immigrants, disabled population). Moreover, the existing research rarely addresses the issue within a smart cities framework. Although there is an urbanization trend in the world, there is still a large segment of the population, particularly older people, living in rural and suburban areas who should not be ignored within the Smart and Connected Communities objectives. The aging population is – nationally and globally – one of the largest and most rapidly growing community segments which lies at the intersection of disadvantaged communities in both urban and suburban environments. On one hand, the Smart and Connected Communities program has a significant potential to improve the lives of the aging population by helping to satisfy their crucial needs (e.g., mobility). On the other hand, older adults face challenges within Smart and Connected Communities which are not necessarily addressed.
In these respects, the Research Coordination Network focuses on three themes related to the aging population: 1) transportation, 2) public safety/emergency services, and 3) housing. Overall, the RCN aims to: 1) study the digital divide comprehensively from multiple perspectives; 2) understand the challenges for disadvantaged population segments under different urban settings and needs; 3) investigate transferability of approaches and practices between regions; and 4) create a framework to help guide policy makers to transform communities into Smart and Connected Communities. The RCN started with 28 researchers from 11 disciplines in 12 academic institutions, four community/non-profit/government organizations, and one industry partner as well as three international collaborators. In the few months after the award was announced, the RCN has attracted more collaborators from all over the U.S. and Dr. Yazici is hoping to keep the momentum going to make the RCN a more permanent hub for ideas, research and innovation for Smart and Connected Communities program advancement. More information on this topic can be found here.
Dr. Yazici is currently finalizing the program for the first workshop which will be held at Hilton Garden Inn at Stony Brook University campus on April 19-20, 2018. The registration is free and the public is strongly encouraged to attend and share their ideas how technology can help in the daily lives of aging population. The link for workshop registration can be found here.