Technology | Penn IUR

Research Paper December 11, 2025 Surveillance or Safety? How Cities are Rewriting Tourism Cities are turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a transformative tool to enhance safety through predictive analytics, real-time monitoring, and rapid response systems. At the same time, AI deployment raises pressing governance questions. Mauricio Rodas Eugénie L. Birch Luke Campo Urban Development

Podcasts December 5, 2025 Special Briefing on AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers? The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked an “AI arms race” with trillions of dollars in investment and profound implications for productivity and employment. Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel as we discuss how generative AI and related technologies are reshaping public sector operations, workforce needs, and infrastructure planning. Panelists include Jon Hartley, Policy Fellow, Hoover Institution; Leigh Palmer, Vice President, Google Public Sector LLC; Megan Kilgore, City Auditor, City of Columbus, Ohio; Howard Neukrug, Executive Director, The Water Center at Penn and Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania; and Thomas Sanchez, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University. Jon Hartley Leigh Palmer Megan Kilgore Howard Neukrug Thomas Sanchez State & Local Finance

Nov 19 2025 Past Event Penn GIS DAY 2025: Exploring the World Through Maps and Data Speakers: Dana Bauer Urban Development

Announcement September 25, 2025 Penn Launches Richards Transportation Initiative to Drive Smarter, More Accessible Mobility Solutions Urban Development

Article May 22, 2025 Doctoral Symposium Celebrates New Urban Research at Penn The Penn Institute for Urban Research celebrated the university’s urban scholars at the 18th Annual Urban Doctoral Symposium & Poster session, highlighting the dissertation work of three newly minted urban PhDs. Urban Development

Faculty Fellow Sanya Carley

Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy & City Planning, Weitzman School of Design Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director, The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

Climate Change & Resilience

Nov 20 2024 Past Event GIS Day Keynote: Exploring Cities through the Lens of Urban Analytics Speakers: Andrew Crooks Urban Development

Nov 11 2024 Past Event Carbon Capture and Cities Speakers: Thomas Daniels Masoud Akbarzadeh Dorit Aviv Jennifer Wilcox Sanya Carley William W. Braham Climate Change & Resilience

Emerging Scholar Shengxio (Alex) Li

Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore

Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development

News July 8, 2024 Pennsylvania Legalized Speed Cameras. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next. Penn IUR Faculty Fellow Erick Guerra spoke with Next City about pedestrian safety. Urban Development

Mar 21 2024 Past Event Leveling the Field: Combining Proprietary Micro-Level Data with Machine Learning Methods for Housing Justice Research Housing Urban Development

Mar 13 2024 Past Event Powering the Slum: Exploring Alternatives Forms of Energy for Informal Settlements Climate Change & Resilience Rapid Urbanization

Sep 28 2023 Past Event AI in the City Urban Development

Sep 22 2023 Past Event Uneven Access to Digital Tools and Tech in Low-Income Informal Communities Rapid Urbanization Urban Development

Affiliated PhD Student Spencer Folk

PhD Candidate at GRASP Lab

Urban Development

Feb 14 2023 Past Event Decarbonizing Cities with Smart City Technologies in Korea Climate Change & Resilience Urban Development

Jan 20 2023 Past Event Wharton Future of Cities Conference Urban Development

Article May 26, 2022 Aging in Place or Stuck in Place? Transportation Planning for Older Americans in the Digital Era Decades-long transportation policies favoring vehicle owners have actually disadvantaged many older adults in their daily travel. To date, studies and policies specifically addressing older adults’ travel needs have not kept pace with the increasing number and diversity of the aging population. My research addresses these gaps by examining the interaction of the built environment, travel behavior, and technology usage among older adults in the United States. Shengxiao (Alex) Li Urban Development

Advisory Board Member Doug Hagan

President, Krytar

Anchor Institutions

Oct 13 2021 Past Event Data and Technology Ecosystems for Social Good

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