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Urban Technology for Social Good

Rory Ball and Leah Honeycutt -
February 19, 2023

城市技术的进步具有产生巨大社会变革的潜力. 为交通无障碍提供技术解决方案, management of traffic systems, 基础设施的发展可以为提高公共利益带来实实在在的好处. 城市和农村社区的交通系统都采用了各种形式的智能技术,以促进社会福利. When utilized effectively, urban technology bridges inequalities; Students at the McClure School aim to heighten access to public transit while collecting geographical data based on citizens’ transportation needs. 还可以newbb电子城市技术,以提高应急服务之间的通信效率, improving response times and overall citizen safety. 

现代交通问题主要是由于缺乏可达性造成的. In southern Ohio, over 6,000 households are “no-car” homes; financial circumstances prevent many from being able to afford cars, making thousands reliant on public transit. 农村地区交通基础设施的不发达只会使这种缺乏通道的情况更加恶化. 此外,公共交通系统存在严重缺陷. Bus stop locations in rural landscapes are scarce, forcing people to walk on highways in order to travel. Many rural areas do not have bus stops at all. 结合城市技术来解释交通系统的缺陷不仅提高了出行效率,而且通过公平的无障碍交通解决方案为公共福利服务.

 然而,在解决交通问题时,某些技术并不总是最好的答案. 智能技术的使用有可能使交通系统复杂化, 导致交通效率低下,却未能促进社会福利. 匹兹堡的自动交通信号灯旨在利用城市技术来提高交通系统的功能. 这项技术的实施也限制了人行道的通行, 消除各种公交车站,以适应预先编程的交通灯. 考虑到很大一部分市民买不起车, 当安全的步行路径被消除时,自动交通信号灯使社会经济障碍永续存在. 不管目的是什么,自动信号灯都是为交通管理服务的, 整体公民福利的成本阻碍了这项技术真正为人民服务. 

与它们所服务的目的相比,智能技术可能也过于昂贵. 仅实施和维护费用就需要一定程度的财政灵活性,许多农村社区根本无法承受. 公共汽车运输的运营费用往往使小城市无法建立交通系统. 当城市负担不起必要的基础设施时,公共交通带来的财政挑战直接损害了市民的福利. 当昂贵的技术只为了损害公民获得交通工具的结果而实施时, the harms of its establishment dominate potential benefits. 

At Ohio University, 麦克卢尔学院的学生直接解决交通和技术问题. 通过一系列以改善交通基础设施为目标的项目建设, 学生们被教育了解交通技术背后的复杂性. 为现实世界的交通不平等创造偿付能力,需要加深对公民与其当地社区的需求的理解. 麦克卢尔学院的学生的任务是开发更具成本效益的产品, simpler technologies for rural communities. 

Developing viable routes, calculating user requirements, 测量维护基础设施是为现代交通问题提供全面技术解决方案的必要组成部分. Different communities have unique needs; students’ work in addressing each element of travel equips them with the knowledge to create innovation for any transportation concern. 

McClure students enrolled in the ITS 5900/4900 course, also known as Urban Technology for Social Good, 研究在阿巴拉契亚地区部署两条自主运输线路的可能性. This fall, 学生们分成两组,一组学习从雅典到大平原再返回的路线, or Athens to Albany and back. In part A of the project, 学生在地理信息系统项目中考虑地理数据的同时,定义该地区的用户和系统需求. 

User requirements include the origin and destination, frequency and coverage, accessibility, affordability, and comfort of the trips. 学生从三个方面分析了系统需求, location of stops, and accessibility for users. 他们还需要评估每个系统需求完全或部分满足用户需求的程度.

In Part B, 学生根据他们定义的系统需求,设计技术解决方案来解决阿巴拉契亚地区的交通问题. This includes bus stop requirements. For each stop, students indicated the necessary infrastructure to implement, operate and maintain the transit service. 路线要求显示了必要的自动巴士技术, storage and parking facilities, maintenance facilities and costs, and charging facilities needed to implement. 


麦克卢尔新兴通信技术学院致力于提供美国最好的学术课程 IT (Information Technology), the game development and the Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) industries. 我们的课程和证书涵盖了快速变化的信息网络行业的许多方面, cybersecurity, data privacy, game development), digital animation and the academic side of esports.