Learn about peer-to-peer transportation, renewable energy co-ops, and water demand sensitivities in Metro Atlanta. How can these emerging trends and issues support economic development in Georgia?

We invite you to join the Program in Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP) at Georgia Tech and other economic developers and policy makers for presentations on these topics by summer interns.

Growing the Peer-to-Peer Transportation Sharing Economy in Rural Georgia

Renee Shelby is a PhD student at Georgia Tech in the Department of History and Sociology. Her project is centered on case studies of four distinct models of peer-to-peer transit that have direct implications for developing and leveraging rural-specific transit apps as economic development. These case studies are drawn from her dataset of the individual app functionality and characteristics of US active and failed peer-to-peer transit apps. She created this dataset from reviews of technology and trade journals, interviews with founders and stakeholders of ride hailing apps, and appraisals of app user activity. She concludes with recommendations for local economic developers.

What are the Economic Development Implications of Renewable Energy Co-ops?

Dorraine Duncan is a master's student at Georgia Tech, pursuing a dual degree in Public Policy and City & Regional Planning. She has assembled a database of renewable energy co-ops around the world, cataloged their characteristics and completed a meta-analysis directed at understanding their potential for economic development. Unlike traditional electricity cooperatives common in rural Georgia, her research is limited to community-led initiatives focused solely on the provision of renewable energy. She concludes with a list of best practices for community leaders and local government.

Sensitivity Analysis of Water Demand in Metro Atlanta

Saudnya Patil is a master's student at Georgia Tech, pursuing a degree in Economics. The aim of her project is to provide a data-centered model to address economic development concerns, real or perceived, about Metro Atlanta’s water issues. She has amassed multi-year data on population, weather, and water usage and built an econometric model to forecast water demand in the region. The model forms the basis for providing an improved understanding of how sensitive Metro Atlanta basin’s future water needs might be to extremes in growth and weather conditions.

For more information, call Lynn Willingham at 404-894-0730 or e-mail lynn.willingham@innovate.gatech.edu

Sponsored by: the Program in Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP), a joint initiative of Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute and the School of Public Policy