2020 Theses Master's

Curb Value Capture: Tech Enabled Infrastructure on Sidewalks for Community Equity Goals

Yang, Claire Liu

We are amidst a digital transformation in our cities. Both private and public sectors are eager to deploy emerging technologies to improve efficiency of processes, infrastructure systems, and quality of life. At the same time, distribution of resources and implementation of new technologies has historically and presently been unequal, typically leaving socially vulnerable populations behind while wealthier and more politically empowered communities advance. Client WSP asks “how can we develop a framework for implementing tech-enabled infrastructure (TEI) to address social equity issues? Can we create a roadmap that empowers municipalities and communities to recognize the benefits of TEI in their own neighborhoods and implement in a way that prioritizes social equity?” The Capstone “Curb Value Capture: Tech Enabled Infrastructure on Sidewalks for Community Equity Goals” applies an equity lens to TEI to fill the existing gap between smart cities and equitable cities practices. Through analyzing three precedents, the COSMOS¹ testbed in Harlem, Sidewalk Toronto in Quayside, small cell in San Francisco, the Capstone developed a set of recommendations for implementing TEI including how to build the relationships, innovate the processes and bridge the capacities.

¹COSMOS stands for Cloud Enhanced Open Software Defined Mobile Wireless Testbed for City-Scale Deployment