Multi-city
Urban Observatory
Network

The UO at the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration is seeking a postdoctoral/research associate to help design and build upcoming MUON deployments. See the official job ad for more details.

Through the novel use of observational and analytical techniques, the Multi-city Urban Observatory Network, with headquarters at the University of Delaware Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration , established facilities at the Center for Urban Science + Progress, and upcoming deployments in Wilmington, Milwaukee, Berkeley, and Freetown (Sierra Leone), studies the complex interactions between the physical, natural, and human components of the city as a coherent, definable system with the goal of enhancing public well-being, city operations, and future urban plans. With our persistent, synoptic imaging and sensing of urban environments, researchers at the UO are developing insights into energy use and stresses on the power grid, measuring the environmental impact of cities on air quality, and characterizing how urban centers affect patterns of daily life and public health.

For more information, see the Urban Observatory System paper !

People

Gregory Dobler Director	Federica Bianco Senior Research Scientist	Mohit Sharma Research Scientist
Kyungmin Lee PhD Student	Farid Qamar PhD Student	Lan Yu PhD Student
Stephanie Gómez-Fonseca Undergraduate Student

Research Projects

Energy

Imaging a city night skyline at different time scales we create models of energy consumption and electrical grid dynamics. Seconds-scale images provide insight into occupancy and activity patterns. Subsecond (hypertemporal) imaging of the same scene can reveal the phase of the electrical grid granular to individual housing units. Spectral wavelength imaging reveals the lighting technologies used in NYC (hyperspectral)

Broad Band Visible imaging of energy proxies
Hypertemporal imaging of energy
Rebound studies through hyperspectral imaging
Infrared building dynamics

Environment

Time-dependent visible wavelength imaging is used to identify soot plumes ejected from NYC buildings and track them as they are transported by urban winds. Hyperspectral imagery yields both the chemical content and concentration of those plumes, providing a unique method to measure air quality in NYC. Observations of chlorophyll in urban vegetation are correlated with data from in situ air quality sensors to measure the impact of urban energy use on vegetation. Nighttime imaging of the skyline is correlated with radar and volunteer data to study impacts of urban lighting on migrating bird ecologies.

Ecological impact of urban lighting
Visible and hyperspectral plumes
Vegetative health
Water vapor and latent heat detection

Human Factors

Using both remote and street-level imaging systems, we are quantifying patterns of life related to human mobility, determining technology adoption and usage characteristics, developing surrogate metrics for traffic safety, and measuring the public health impacts of light pollution via circadian disruption.

Light pollution and circadian phase delay
Rebound studies
Technology penetration
Time-dependent foot traffic
Surrogate traffic safety measures

Media

MUON headquarters moves to the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware

Dr. Federica Bianco's TED talk is live on TED.com

The work of the UO was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal (By Robert Lee Hotz, December 11, 2015)

other features articles include:

• From the Milky Way to Midtown, A New Way to See a City Commercial Property Executive Commercial Property Executive
• NYU Observatory Captures "Pulse of City" Crain's New York Business
• A Secret Urban Observatory Is Snapping 9,000 Images A Day Of New York City Fast Company
• NYU CUSP Aims Continuous Camera at Lower Manhattan Technical.ly/Brooklyn
• Urban Physics American Physical Society
• NYU CUSP Unveils First-Of-Its-Kind ‘Urban Observatory’ In Downtown Brooklyn City Biz List
• Don’t Miss a Beat PRISM
• They’re Tracking When You Turn Off the Lights Wall Street Journal