New York University
IN-25: Innovation B

The NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) is an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to the application of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the service of urban communities across the globe. CUSP's mission is as follows: "Using New York City as our laboratory and classroom, we strive to develop novel data- and technology-driven solutions for complex urban problems. CUSP’s research and educational initiatives seek to improve city services; optimize decision-making by local governments; create smart urban infrastructures; address challenging urban issues such as crime, environmental pollution and public health issues; and inspire urban citizens to improve their quality of life." CUSP is unique because of its focus on using data and technology to solve urban problems, many of which are central to sustainability such as energy, GHG emissions, and air & noise pollution. CUSP was founded in part due to New York City's desire for applied urban science school in New York City. Some examples of CUSP projects include: - Creating an interactive energy and GHG map of New York City in conjunction with the NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability and the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Managament (2019) - Performing data analysis for New York City's energy benchmarking and GHG inventory (annually, latest year being 2017) - Employing artificial intelligence and citizen scientists to understand and mitigate noise pollution (SONYC) (Currently ongoing) - Analyzing the effect of artificial light on bird migration (2018) - Digitally tracing the creep of gentrification (2018) - Detecting pollution plumes in NYC (2018) - Investigating the Impact of Manhattan Congestion Surcharge on Commuter Transportation Choices in New York City (2019) - Researching remote sensing and data modeling tools to help the NYC prepare for future stormwater flooding (2019) - Studying the transportation mode shifts by the public from public transportation and private vehicles to ride-sharing and self-propelled transportation (2020) CUSP also offers a Master of Science in Applied Urban Science and Informatics, empowering our students with the knowledge and technical expertise to make cities around the world more productive, livable, equitable, and resilient. Links to relevant projects: https://nyc-ghg-inventory.cusp.nyu.edu/ https://cusp.nyu.edu/news/nyc-building-energy-ghg-interactive-map/ https://energy.cusp.nyu.edu/#/ https://wp.nyu.edu/sonyc/ https://cusp.nyu.edu/2018-capstones/ https://cusp.nyu.edu/2019-capstones/