A team led by Schoo of Public Policy Assistant Professor Dr. Omar Asensio met with city officials in Albany, Georgia to discuss efforts to move the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge forward for the city. The Georgia Smart Communities Challenge is a Georgia Tech-led initiative that brings together industry and public agencies to support large and small neighborhoods in their efforts to implement cutting-edge smart technologies.

Albany is one of four Georgia communities seeking “smart solutions” through the Georgia Tech-led program to implement smart design solutions to some of the city’s challenges. Teams each receive $50,000 in grants and $25,000 from Georgia Tech in research support. Also, the four communities each raised an additional $50,000. Georgia Power is the lead sponsor of the program and Atlanta Regional Commission providees additional financial support.

Omar Isaac Asensio was selected to work on the “Albany Housing Data Analytics and Visualization Initiative for the City of Albany,” one of four projects for the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.  The Albany initiative seeks to bridge the gap between available data and the need for a comprehensive, flexible, and accurate database to effectively manage the Albany housing inventory.

The end result of this initiative will allow a better measurement of public funds allocated for housing and neighborhood structure repairs and enhancements, using an automated data analytics and visualization tool. The initiative also allows the city and its collaborators to engage with residents and become part of the solution to the communities’ housing issues. 

Work on this initiative and the other projects is set to continue through September 2019.

Click here to learn more about the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.