Smart Urban Transportation Forum

Description

Mobility is key to modern urban transportation system. The rapid increase in urban populations is putting a significant burden on the current transportation system. Widespread congestion and traffic gridlock have become the norm in many cities. The situation is further exacerbated by the rapidly growing online retailing industry. The rising concerns of climate change also call for more use of clean energy sources in the transportation industry. All these aforementioned trends are imposing great pressures on current urban transportation system. On the other hand, great opportunities arise with the recent advent of new technologies and business models in telecommunication, transportation, and auto industries. The increasing popularity of ride-sharing and ride-hailing companies significantly affects the way people commute, and the arrival of connected and autonomous vehicles is expected to change the landscape of urban transportation systems dramatically.

The goal of this forum is to create a platform to promote communication and collaboration on interdisciplinary research related to urban transportation. The forum will serve as a venue to share the latest research findings and offer diverse perspectives on emerging challenges and opportunities in urban transportation. We are hoping to create a research community to continue the discussion beyond this forum. 

Structure

The forum aims to bring experts from different disciplines, such as industrial engineering, civil engineering, mathematics, economics, computer science, public policy, environmental science, data science and business analytics, both academia and industry, together to offer holistic views to the the design, planning, and operation of the next generation urban transportation system. The forum will start with presentations on discipline-specific perspectives and findings, followed by panel discussions to identify important interdisciplinary themes in urban transportation.  

Topics

• New techniques on connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles and the challenges of integrating these technologies into the current transportation system.
• The acquisition, analysis, and synthesis of unstructured user data generated by GPS devices, smartphones, mobile apps and road-side sensors, and their implications in the design of intelligent transportation systems.
• Methodological foundations of on-demand transportation services, such as ride-hailing services and online food delivery.
• The plan and design of multi-modal transit systems, including bike and car sharing systems, ride-hailing services, and alternative fuel vehicles, as well as their impact on the environment.