A preproposal to the NSF-Information Technology Research Program (Information Management and Applications): Group proposal, <$1M/yr for 5 years.
Ramon Arrowsmith, Department of Geological Sciences and Frederick Steiner, School Of Planning & Landscape Architecture AND OTHERS
Arizona State University
Embracing complexity
We are challenged by an opportunity: interactions between humans and their environment are so complicated that each is typically studied in isolation, yet we live somewhere relative to a city or town and relative to wild lands and pristine landscapes. The greater Phoenix Arizona region comprises a desert landscape transforming through a suburban matrix to an urban center. The population of the region has doubled in the last 20 years and is expected to double again in the next 20. This growth represents the opportunity: we are directly involved in it and can study it, measure it, and possibly manipulate it. We propose to take the pulse of the region and present a prognosis for growth. We will explore interventions to keep the region healthy. To describe the history of the region, we need to put together the datasets. Many are available off the shelf from the various stakeholders (municipalities, county, state, federal, private, academic). We need to establish mean of maintaining the databases that are built and their connectivity and of gathering new data, so we have the pulse of the region. To anticipate the future, we have to train our models on the history, situate them in the present, and send them forward and test the results and visualize the various scenarios. Our challenges are to integrate diverse datasets and develop a ?brand name? as a place to come for high quality data in the region, to develop and apply models of the urban-desert system in ways that embrace its inherent complexity, and to make our understanding useful for those who make decisions.
Research questions
-What is the past, present, and future distribution of materials and processes in an expanding urban region in a semi-arid setting and what are the controls on and drivers of change? How do the changes depend on history and the current configuration?
-Can we apply multiscale, coupled, deterministic and empirical models to the complex urban-desert system well enough to make useful predictions with regard to the relevant parameters such as air and water quality, real estate values, wildlife distributions, etc.?
-What information technology innovations can help us to transfer our knowledge to all levels of interested groups: scientists, decision makers, students, voters?
Tools and expected results
The Urban eAtlas will create an interactive electronic/ecological data bank and decision theater for the greater Phoenix metropolitan region. The Urban eAtlas will be a unique information systems tool that links scientific data and policy decision making in the fast-growing Phoenix metropolitan area. Inputs will include scientific research on biophysical parameters, the built environment; and demographics. Outputs will be the application of these data (by local decision makers) to the development of solutions to pressing problems of land use, transportation, air and water quality, and understanding the structure and function of the urban ecosystem. The information technology architecture of the eAtlas will be designed to ensure that end users can indeed apply data in dynamic, real time settings. Our principal effort will be characterization and analysis of diverse datasets (including active data streams) gathered over different timescales and with different resolutions and maintenance of a high quality standard. These data will be interpreted using urban, ecological, and coupled surface-atmosphere models.
Research team and Collaboration
Arizona State University faculty will supervise a team of post doctoral scholars, graduate students, and essential information technology specialists. Our funding request is primarily for the post doc and graduate student support. In addition, we have established collaborations with the Los Alamos National Laboratory Urban Security Team, ESRI (producers of Arc-Info), the City of Phoenix Planning Department, and others. The ASU commitment to this project (in addition to the major support for the CAP-LTER and the Urban Ecology IGERT) will be sufficient space and an ?Environmentally friendly IT type.?