The Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) launched the inaugural Community Partners in Residence (CPR) program in November 2023. This innovative program is developing a new relationship between researchers at Columbia University, Rutgers University, Lehman College, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida with civic and business leaders in the Harlem community. These CPR workshops have created an opportunity for Harlem residents to learn about the latest technological innovations from CS3 researchers while their views on how these technological advances can benefit the community are solicited. The CPR program is designed as a true collaboration between researchers, residents, and business leaders in Harlem. Its purpose is to be responsive to community-identified needs so that researchers and community members can improve the neighborhood streetscape together through technological innovation.
Twelve interactive workshops are scheduled to take place twice a month over the course of 6 months, bringing CS3 engineers and researchers together with Harlem community members (CPRs) to introduce and evaluate technology innovations would potentially be developed to address needs on the streetscape. Six of these 12 sessions have already taken place, and discussions between CS3 researchers and CPRs continue to be engaging, informative and provocative. An early discussion focused on the purpose of the existing COSMOS testbed, which has been in place in a section of West Harlem. The testbed provides the ideal setting for researchers to try out new CS3 streetscape technologies after a Community Review Board approves them.
Prior to launching the program, all CPRs completed a baseline survey that captured their knowledge of, comfort with, and level of interaction with various forms of technology. We found that CPRs are very familiar with most streetscape technologies, have some concerns about security, privacy, and personal data collection, and are optimistic about deploying technology to improve conditions on the streetscape. We will be surveying our CPRs again after they have completed the program to see if any of their opinions have changed.
To date, nine university faculty from the CS3 have shared their research and explained how technology applications can address streetscape issues. Our CPRs have discussed topics such as 5G latency and the COSMOS testbed; challenges to balancing urban situational awareness demands; edge-cloud coordination and real-time optimization; assistive & navigational technology that layers interaction and pedestrian safety; the trade-offs between privacy, security, and transparency; emergency response; and the ability to detect anomalous behaviors as threats to public safety in real-time while also protecting individual privacy. The placement of cameras on Harlem’s streetscape resulted in robust discussions around privacy concerns. While acknowledging that a large number of cameras are already placed on the streetscape, balancing privacy with the potentially beneficial uses of technology is an ongoing conversation, especially when they can help address safety concerns.
All workshops, thus far, have resulted in engaging discussions, as researchers address questions from the group, and CPRs spend portions of the time in break-out sessions, identifying salient areas of concern. After their breakout sessions, CPRs report out their observations and suggestions for further discussion with the full group. This interactive format continues to deepen discussion among the CPRs and provides an opportunity to develop consensus in a small group setting, focusing on the specific quality-of-life issues that technology can assist in improving. The breakout groups have also focused on the discomfort that CPRs and others in the community have when technology is deployed in densely populated neighborhoods like Harlem.
These CPR workshops are helping to ensure that the partnership between the CS3 and the Harlem community is impactful and will ultimately play a crucial role in clarifying which research areas CS3 should pursue and the types of applications that will be acceptable to the community, as required by the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.
By Yassin Choye, CS3 Communications and Engagement Manager