SoA Professor Kristen Kurland delivers a keynote address on Smart Cities and Campus Innovation during the ARCHIBUS Nexus 2017 Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
Enterprise data analytics and big data at Carnegie Mellon University drive multi-disciplinary collaborations between architects, engineers, computer scientists, gaming experts, and city officials to demonstrate how spatial technologies are used to improve the physical and economic health of a post-industrial city. Challenges facing urban areas include aging infrastructure, health, mobility, security, energy, the environment, and economic resiliency. Metro 21, a partnership between Carnegie Mellon, the City of Pittsburgh, and Allegheny County Pennsylvania, was launched in 2014 and is devoted to addressing these challenges faced by the region. Using CAFM, BIM, GIS, as well as sensors, social media, gaming, and simulation tools, researchers, faculty, and students work with city officials in a mutually beneficial relationship where the city and university are test-beds. Faculty and students get access to real-world laboratories (the campus and city) aimed at addressing the City’s top priorities. Through an expanded Metro Lab Network, more than 30 regional city-university partnerships deploy innovative solutions that can be applied around the nation and globe.