Related papers: Sorting Out New York City's Trash Problem
The rise of Uber as the global alternative taxi operator has attracted a lot of interest recently. Aside from the media headlines which discuss the new phenomenon, e.g. on how it has disrupted the traditional transportation industry, policy…
Recent estimates indicate that there are over 1 million runaway and homeless youth and young adults (RHY) in the United States (US). Exposure to trauma, violence, and substance abuse, coupled with a lack of community support services, puts…
Rideshare and ride-pooling platforms use artificial intelligence-based matching algorithms to pair riders and drivers. However, these platforms can induce inequality either through an unequal income distribution or disparate treatment of…
As robotic systems (RS) become more autonomous, they are becoming increasingly used in small spaces and offices to automate tasks such as cleaning, infrastructure maintenance, or resource management. In this paper, we propose iTrash, an…
Current transit suffers from an evident inequity: the level of service of transit in suburbs is much less satisfying than in city centers. As a consequence, private cars are still the dominant transportation mode for suburban people, which…
Bike sharing systems are a very popular means to provide bikes to citizens in a simple and cheap way. The idea is to install bike stations at various points in the city, from which a registered user can easily loan a bike by removing it…
The era of the automobile has seriously degraded the quality of urban life through costly travel and visible environmental effects. A new urban planning paradigm must be at the heart of our roadmap for the years to come. The one where,…
The problem to deal with in this project is the problem of routing electric vehicles, which consists of finding the best routes for this type of vehicle, so that they reach their destination, without running out of power and optimizing to…
Using machine learning methods in a quasi-experimental setting, I study the heterogeneous effects of introducing waste prices - unit prices on household unsorted waste disposal on - waste demands, municipal costs and pollution. Using a…
Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue, and detecting and monitoring plastic litter is crucial to mitigate its impact. This paper presents the methodology of mapping street-level litter, focusing primarily on plastic waste and…
We examine the impact of New York City's congestion pricing program through automated analysis of traffic camera data. Our computer vision pipeline processes footage from over 900 cameras distributed throughout Manhattan and New York,…
The rapid and constant increase in urban population has led to a drastic rise in urban solid waste production with worrying consequences for the environment and society. In many cities, an efficient waste management combined with a suitable…
Electrification of transportation is critical for a low-carbon society. In particular, public vehicles (e.g., taxis) provide a crucial opportunity for electrification. Despite the benefits of eco-friendliness and energy efficiency, adoption…
Discovery program (DISC) is a policy used by the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) to increase the number of admissions of students from low socio-economic background to specialized high schools. This policy has been…
Litter pollution represents a growing environmental problem affecting natural and urban ecosystems worldwide. Waste discarded in public spaces often accumulates in areas that are difficult to access, such as uneven terrains, coastal…
We present the Sounds of New York City (SONYC) project, a smart cities initiative focused on developing a cyber-physical system for the monitoring, analysis and mitigation of urban noise pollution. Noise pollution is one of the topmost…
Rivers and canals flowing through cities are often used illegally for dumping the trash. This contaminates freshwater channels as well as causes blockage in sewerage resulting in urban flooding. When this contaminated water reaches…
Taxi services are an integral part of urban transport and are a major contributor to air pollution and traffic congestion, which adversely affect human life and health. Sharing taxi rides is one way to reduce the unfavorable effects of cab…
Numerous studies have shown the harmful effects of airborne pollutants on human health. Vulnerable groups and communities often bear a disproportionately larger health burden due to exposure to airborne pollutants. Thus, there is a need to…
Third world countries tend to have a higher share of plastic waste that is inadequately managed while the First world countries have higher plastic waste generation per person. A difference in the characteristics of plastic pollution…