Authors

GuangJian Dong, Jason Dai, Zixuan Zhang

Research Question

Where in New York City would introducing utilidor technology have the greatest impact? The project explores how publicly available surface data can indicate subsurface infrastructure vulnerability and support a citywide measure of surface disruption impact.

Background

Whatever reliable SUDI location and condition data exists at the utilities, it is not publicly available. In the absence of SUDI locational and condition data, publicly available surface data can provide a solution in the form of a city-wide “heat” map. Prior student-led borough-scale heatmap projects, which used only publicly available surface-related data, proved the concept. If a city-wide version of such a heatmap had been available for the Utilidor VE Study we would now be in a better place to advance the Study proposals and have a decision-making tool for NYC to make first-level decisions about potential places across the city to consider for utilidor implementation.

The prior student projects at the borough-scale developed a methodology to use a variety of publicly available surface data to suggest (1) SUDI vulnerability and, with other data, permit (2) creation of an associated measure of surface disruption impact and (3) translate both to a data visualized “heat” map. This project would have the benefit of the Utilidor VE Study, which Town + Gown can make available to the capstone team as well as the methodology and mapping techniques from the two borough-scale proof of concept projects, to expand them to a city-wide scale (possibly adding other publicly available data) to become the first-level decision-making tool for the city as it moves to implement aspects of the VE Study, which includes figuring out how to decide where and when to implement utilidors. This capstone team would not be constrained by the thinking behind the prior projects and can use the Utilidor VE Study and the prior projects, as foundations, to develop the best approach for a city-wide mapping tool for decision making.

Methodology

The project involves:

• Reviewing the Utilidor VE Study and the prior projects’ deliverables to understand what NYC needs and why as well the prior projects’ objectives, methodology, data processing decisions and the functionality of a mapping tool
• Interrogating the heat factors used in prior projects and develop their own heat factor analysis
• Creating an interactive citywide heat mapping tool

Deliverables

• Interactive Mapping Tool: A citywide heat map supporting decisions about the most impactful locations to introduce utilidor technology.
• Surface Disruption Index: A heat index measuring surface disruption impact.

Data Sources

• Publicly available surface data