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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Albany, GA | Posted: June 12, 2018
For media inquiries about Georgia Smart, contact Laura Diamond, laura.diamond@gatech.edu
For all other inquiries, email scii@ipat.gatech.edu
Georgia Smart Communities Challenge Plans
Four communities are the first winners of the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge. Learn more about their plans:
Albany Housing Data Analytics and Visualization Initiative
Lead: Albany
Collaborators: Department of Community and Economic Development; Dougherty County; Albany, Georgia Initiative for Community Housing; and Fight Albany Blight
This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between available data and the need for a comprehensive, flexible and accurate database to effectively manage the Albany housing inventory. The end result will allow a better measurement of public funds allocated for housing and neighborhood structure repairs and enhancements, using an automated data analytics and visualization tool. The initiative also allows the city and its collaborators to engage with residents and become part of the solution to the communities’ housing issues.
Assigned Georgia Tech researcher: Omar Isaac Asensio, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy.
Shared Autonomous Vehicle Study
Lead: Chamblee
Collaborators: Doraville, MARTA, Stantec and Assembly Community Improvement District (CID)
This project will study improvements in mobility through the use of shared autonomous vehicles, which travel from MARTA stations into the community. This option will reduce road congestion, increase pedestrian and traveler safety and improve equity in the community. While the project will look at challenges surrounding the “last mile” – getting from a transportation hub to a final destination – there will be additional implications. The research will look at the potential impacts of autonomous vehicle technology on land use, attracting residents and employees, expanding access to MARTA, prioritizing pedestrian and bike mobility; and improving public health.
Assigned Georgia Tech researcher: Ellen Dunham-Jones, professor in the School of Architecture.
Smart Sea Level Tools for Emergency Planning and Response
Lead: Chatham County
Collaborators: Savannah and Creative Coast
This project will develop and test a pilot sensor network for measuring sea level flood risk during natural disasters and storms. Sea level rise presents a risk to coastal communities and those risks become more pronounced during hurricane landfalls when extreme flooding exacts a major toll on public safety and key infrastructure. The proposed sensor network will improve flood warnings, emergency response action plans and predictions for future flood events. This project is considered the first of its kind for the region, and the expectation is it will serve as a model for future smart designs along Georgia’s coastline.
Assigned Georgia Tech researcher: Kim Cobb, Georgia Power Chair and professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
Connected Vehicle Technology Master Plan
Lead by Gwinnett County
Collaborators: Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Norcross, Suwanee and Georgia Department of Transportation
This project will evaluate traffic management technologies for improved vehicle mobility throughout the region. It will use the latest technological advances in traffic management systems to improve traffic congestion and reduce crashes along the Peachtree Boulevard corridor. In addition to modeling how to set up a connected vehicle system, this project will help agencies charged with new traffic safety and mobility to manage expectations and costs, and fully realize the benefits of these new technologies.
Assigned Georgia Tech researcher: Angshuman Guin, senior research engineer in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Summary Sentence:
Georgia Smart Communities Challenge helps small and large cities improve quality of life.
Full Summary:
No summary paragraph submitted.
Georgia Smart Communities Challenge
Georgia Smart Communities Challenge Winners MapWhile the four Georgia communities represent different parts of the state, their leaders expressed a similar goal: improve the quality of life for residents.
The cities of Albany and Chamblee and the counties of Chatham and Gwinnett will soon embark on year-long projects to address housing blight, traffic and transportation woes and sea level rise along Georgia’s coast. These projects are supported through the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge, a Georgia Tech-led initiative that brings together industry and public agencies to support large and small neighborhoods in their efforts to implement cutting-edge smart technologies.
Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson and other state leaders traveled to Albany Tuesday to announce the four winners.
“Georgia Tech is very proud to have played a role in this program, which we believe will improve the quality of life in the participating communities and also provide models for other communities throughout our state to consider as they strive to make life better for their citizens,” Peterson said.
The program provides seed funding and access to technical assistance, expert advice and a network of peers. A Georgia Tech researcher will advise and conduct research in support of each group’s goals.
The teams will each receive $50,000 in grants and $25,000 from Georgia Tech in research support. The selected communities each raised an additional $50,000.
Georgia Power is the lead sponsor of the program, with additional financial support from the Atlanta Regional Commission.
In Albany, the city and its collaborators will establish an efficient inventory of key community housing and associated infrastructure conditions. City leaders said this housing resiliency project will provide them with the data to make sure resources are being spent and allocated in ways that will result in the biggest positive impact.
“This program allows us to be part of work that is on the cutting edge and will prepare our community for the future,” Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard said. “It means so much for the community to know we have Georgia Tech behind us and that this is a project we should be doing.”
The Gwinnett County project will evaluate traffic management technologies for improved vehicle mobility throughout the region. The technology will improve safety and connectivity. For this project to succeed, the county needs to make sure it’s investing in the right hardware and technology, said Vince Edwards, project coordinator with the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation.
“This an opportunity for us to work with the premier research institution in the state and have access to world-class talent,” he said. “We know working with Georgia Tech and the other partners will help us make sure we are successful.”
Georgia Smart organizers expect the strategies developed by the selected communities will serve as models that could be implemented elsewhere across the state.
The program is just one part of the work Georgia Tech is doing in this area. The Institute has partnered with the city of Atlanta since 2015 to design, implement and study Smart City initiatives.
“For us, Georgia Smart represents a great opportunity to branch out to other parts of our state,” Peterson said.
Work on the projects will begin in September and continue through September 2019.
Georgia Tech will conduct site visits to the four communities and hold workshops, conference calls and other activities to support the projects, said Debra Lam, managing director of Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation at Georgia Tech.
“Creating and implementing smart communities is hard work and it’s difficult,” she said. “But we know we’re on the right path when we are purposely empowering local communities themselves with data and technology.”
Additional Georgia Smart partners include: Association County Commissioners of Georgia, Georgia Centers for Innovation, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Municipal Association, Global City Challenges, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Technology Association of Georgia.
