Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research
NSF Funds UTSA Effort to Advance Ethical Urban Digital Twins
October 1, 2024
The National Science Foundation has awarded funding to a UTSA-led team to address ethical concerns in Urban Digital Twins. The project focuses on improving communication with disadvantaged communities, ensuring the ethical use of responsible AI and privacy-preserving sensors, and leveraging digital twin models to combat urban heat island effects.
Led by Drs. Wei Zhai, Esteban López Ochoa, RJ Lee, Paul NajafiRad, Farzad Hashemi, and Neil Debbage, UTSA is partnering with Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Xinyue Ye, and the San Antonio Historical Westside Residents Association. Prototypes will be developed in San Antonio’s Westside, building on community sensor work from the UTSA Connect project. Support from the City of San Antonio will play a key role in advancing this initiative.
