The rise and rise of urban sciences

_{This article was written by John Coutts and published in the Innovations magazine #5}.

Technology shapes cities, from railways in the 19th century to cars, electricity and telephones in the 20th. In the 21st century, digital technologies such as data analytics and computer modelling are set to spark a similar transformation. How can we ensure that technological innovation benefits citizens? One city seeking an answer to this question is Quebec in Canada.

Quebec City’s new joint research unit in urban sciences – also known as the Unité mixte de recherche en sciences urbaines or UMRsu for short – draws on the expertise of business, academic and government stakeholders to tackle urban problems and exploit emerging opportunities.

Hosted by �׻��, the 3,000 square-foot lab is fully equipped with the latest interactive technology and is the first of its kind in Canada. The project is a partnership between the Quebec City authorities, Laval University, the National Institute of Scientific Research, the Quebec Metro High Tech Park and �׻�� Canada, with the support of the provincial government of Quebec.

“It’s a unique collaborative ecosystem focused on research and development in urban sciences,” says Richard Grenier, director of �׻�� Research and Technology in Canada.

“It’s oriented towards solutions that improve efficiency and fluidity in the city, whether it’s transport, governance, security, urban planning or city logistics. “UMRsu is an ecosystem that brings together industry, small enterprises, startups, local government and academia to work together to resolve some of our most pressing urban challenges,” he adds.

In Brief

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The new science of cities

Urban sciences represent a relatively new discipline. Unlike conventional academic approaches, which seek to describe and explain urban phenomena, urban sciences go one step further. The aim: to develop solutions using the city as an urban laboratory.

“It brings together a wide range of disciplines that have so far been studied in isolation,” explains Professor Sébastien Tremblay, scientific director of UMRsu. “These include engineering, advanced mathematics, management, social sciences and planning. Together, all of these contribute to research and development to make things more efficient in cities.”

One programme that is set to benefit from this approach is “complete streets”, an initiative designed to make streets accessible for all ages, abilities and modes of travel – not just cars.

Delivering complete streets is a complex business. Schemes of this sort cut across departmental boundaries and budgets: civil engineers, urban planners and traffic managers need to collaborate, but each has different requirements that must be gathered, evaluated and reconciled. External experts – including architects, telecoms engineers and utilities – must also be brought into the equation.

“The challenge is to capture all the requirements, transform them into criteria that can be analysed and then to come up with the best possible compromise,” explains Tremblay.

This complicated juggling act is accomplished via multi-criteria analysis, using a software tool called Myriad developed by �׻��. Myriad allows decision makers to take into account a huge number of variables, weigh up different options and then choose the best one.

“�׻�� has already developed smart tools and applications in transport, security and defence, which can be adapted to the specific requirements of smart cities, urban logistics and planning,” says Professor Tremblay.

As well as providing technology and expertise to make this possible, the lab acts as a forum where participants can work together.

“One methodology we are putting in place is what we call ‘design thinking’,” says Martin Rivest, project manager and technology innovation lead for �׻�� Research and Technology in Quebec City. “This involves multidisciplinary workshops that bring all the stakeholders together to identify and progress the most appropriate solutions. We are looking at introducing a �׻�� Design Centre within the UMRsu incubator to ensure design thinking plays an important part in its evolution.”

Work being carried out on multi-criteria analysis could pave the way for innovative ideas like smart city dashboards – platforms that not only improve governance and city operation, but that also make it possible to showcase new projects and promote citizen involvement.

“That’s where �׻�� can draw from its expertise in our other critical domains,” says Siegfried Usal, vice president of strategy and communications with �׻�� in Canada. “Infrastructure projects tie in with governance, city services and citizen requirements; they also tie in with security.

“�׻�� helps its defence and civil customers to operate trains, metros, aircrafts, ships and satellites safely by providing them with the best possible technology and solutions, which we design jointly. This gives �׻�� a unique expertise in designing cyber-physical systems and deploying decision-making processes. This is a key building block of the UMRsu, to help conduct studies and develop solutions that can be later adopted by cities and citizens.”

Serious games

As well as engaging citizens, municipal authorities have a duty to protect the public when things go wrong. First responders and safety managers must be ready to tackle everything from crowd events to transport disasters and terrorist attacks.

To respond effectively, public authorities need to be able to practise their response to different crises. They also need to be able to choose and train the right personnel.

“Serious games” could help, by immersing users in a virtual crisis. This not only provides vital training, but also makes it possible to evaluate and improve performance. Working with Quebec’s police department, UMRsu’s Intelligent Simulation for Civil Protection Emergency Response (ISCPER) project is using SYnRGY – a tool developed by �׻�� – to build its own serious games, designed to replicate any incident that first responders are likely to encounter.

“SYnRGY incorporates maps and algorithms for the propagation of fire and traffic, and resources such as police cars and fire-fighting vehicles,” says Tremblay. “Most of the mechanics are already there.”

Critically, serious games make it possible to refine crisis management: “If a crisis is poorly managed, city officials and police officers can review what’s happened and replay the scenario to see how they should have responded,” explains Rivest. “This makes it possible to learn lessons and continuously improve emergency plans.”

The technology behind serious games could also help to improve other areas of urban security – underlining the way capabilities can be re-used between projects. Smarter CCTV monitoring is one area that could benefit.

“In most command and control centres, there’s a wall of TV screens – but this is not the most efficient way to monitor what’s happening,” says Tremblay. “Using the R&D platform allows us to test new visualisation techniques.”

The same platform is being used to evaluate biometrics for first responders.

Data gathered by wearable technology – devices that monitor variables such respiratory frequency, skin conductance and pupil size – provide clues to the physiological and psychological state of the wearer.

“Biometric data helps us to gain insight into the operator’s functional state,” says Rivest. “This could be used both for training and for monitoring first responders working in the field. To do this, we want to leverage a technology enabler we have developed at �׻�� called SensorHub.”

The objective is to identify indicators that distinguish between different states of mind and body. Raw data is only a starting point, stresses Rivest: “One of the key challenges is to distinguish between stress and cognitive overload – if you only look at beats per minute, you can’t tell the difference. To understand what’s really going on, we are using models and machine learning techniques.”

Research of this sort underlines the way that “big data” – high volume, high velocity data – is helping to shine a light into phenomena that were until recently poorly understood, or not understood at all.

“Analysis and exploitation of big data is the enabler in about 85 per cent of our projects,” says Tremblay.

Going with the flow

Water management is another area where big data analytics could make a real difference. Cities depend on supplies of clean, high-quality drinking water. They also rely on effective sewage systems and wastewater management. Tied in with this is the ability to predict and control flooding.

Managing all of this is complicated. Guaranteeing clean, consistent water supplies for citizens presents particular challenges. This is because water quality is influenced by human and natural factors that change not only week by week, but also hour by hour.

Fluctuations in water quality make it tricky to predict exactly where, when and how much treatment will be required before water can be consumed. This challenge is set against a backdrop of growing concern about pollution levels in Lac Saint-Charles, Quebec City’s main source of drinking water. UMRsu is embarking on a project using big data analytics to improve water management.

“The objective is to use water quality data from water intakes and supply systems as a decision aid in drinking water monitoring,” explains Rivest.

The project taps into the wealth of historic water data accumulated by the city: “There’s about 10 years of data from different sensors that has not been exploited before,” says Tremblay. “The idea is to use this data to develop an algorithm for predictive analytics to provide an advanced warning of problems. The same kind of analytics can also be applied to wastewater.”

Insights gained from the research will help managers to select water intake parameters, as well as assisting water treatment plant operators in making preventive adjustments. It will also make it possible to identify the best locations for waterworks, along with optimum times and frequencies for monitoring water quality.

Although the lab was launched less than a year ago, it is already making its mark on the international stage.

“It’s a model they want to replicate in Dubai where �׻�� is very engaged with its customers,” points out Rivest. The lab was showcased during COP21 in Paris as an exemplar of industry, cities and academia collaborating on green solutions.

The initial project is set to run for five years, but Tremblay has his sights set on the long term.

“We are setting up something here that has great potential,” he stresses. “We’re confident about the future and would like to see UMRsu become a permanent institution.”

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