Transportation
Predicting Travel Patterns in Future Disasters
Researchers hope mobility data gleaned from Twitter during Hurricane Sandy can eventually help boost New York City's resilience.
When Hurricane Sandy's 14-foot storm surge slammed into New York City in 2012, more than 1.5 million households immediately lost power. Some nine out of the 14 subway tunnels under the city's rivers flooded, and the subway remained closed for days. All told, 43 New Yorkers died, and tens of thousands were "injured, temporarily dislocated, or entirely displaced by the storm’s impact," according to a city report.
In the two years since, the city has vowed to become a more "resilient" New York. How can the city improve infrastructure's ability to recover and persist in the midst of disruption? How can local communities learn the particular strengths and weaknesses of their man-made structures and spaces?