Enabling smart cities in coastal regions of environmental and industrial change

A shoreline with houses and industrial buildings.

Project Summary: The Coastal Bend Region (CBR) of Texas is vulnerable to acute and chronic environmental stressors stemming from natural and industrial sources, including flooding and erosion from high tides, storm surge events, and ship traffic, as well as higher levels of air and water pollution due to expansion of nearby industrial operations. Despite the multitude of environmental hazards facing the region, formal monitoring systems are limited and provide an incomplete view of local-level conditions. In addition, networks for communication and decision-making are often localized and/or fragmented. As a result, CBR communities lack the comprehensive data and decision-making structures needed to plan for, respond to, and mitigate the impacts of potential hazards. This project will apply a mixed-methods approach to advance the understanding of how smart and connected technologies can be integrated into and support regional communication networks to build adaptive capacity in the face of cumulative impacts from climate change and industrial expansion, using the CBR as an exemplar. Research activities will be co-developed and coordinated with residents, community-based organizations, elected officials, and city/county staff to strengthen multidisciplinary, cross-sector partnerships, enhance public engagement with science and technology, and broaden participation by underrepresented groups and frontline communities in the scientific process.

Sponsor: National Science Foundation Smart and Connected Communities Program

Award Period: Oct 2022 – Sep 2026

Funding: $2,399,762

Team: Michelle Hummel, Karabi Bezboruah, Oswald Jenewein, Yonghe Liu, Kathryn Masten

Publications:

  • Choi B, Hummel MA (2025) Spatiotemporal air quality prediction using stochastic advection-diffusion model for multimodal data fusion. Environmental Research Letters.
    https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ada397
  • Jenewein O, Hummel MA, Bezboruah K, Liu Y (2024) Towards collaborative smart cities: A participatory framework to co-develop an environmental monitoring dashboard along the Texas Coast. International Journal of Urban Sciences.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/12265934.2024.2438201
  • Bezboruah K, Sakalker A, Hummel MA, Jenewein O, Masten K, Liu Y (2024) Adaptive capacity to address coastal flooding: The case of a small Texas city. Environmental Science and Policy, 151.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.103599