Connecting Electric Transmission and Transportation Underground Infrastructure Planning Through Data
Abstract: Urban underground infrastructure is a core component of smart city systems, with transportation infrastructure and underground electric transmission representing two major interdependent subsystems. Yet the planning of these capital-intensive systems remains largely disconnected despite their physical and functional interdependence. The two sectors use incompatible data systems, answer to different regulatory authorities, and have no shared framework for joint planning and investment decision-making. This AG asks how data systems can be designed to support underground infrastructure decisions across institutional boundaries and planning regimes. While this AG focuses on electric transmission and transportation as its primary case, it is open to other urban underground infrastructure systems, with the ultimate goal of using data to connect interdependent systems so they can be planned, managed, and operated more effectively together.
The primary goal of this AG is to build an interdisciplinary research team and develop a competitive proposal to relevant DOE, DOT, and NSF funding programs. To achieve this, the AG will conduct a targeted literature and policy review to establish a shared understanding of the problem landscape, hold structured working sessions with TUUI members to develop a shared problem statement and research agenda, and engage directly with relevant program officers to obtain feedback on scope and competitiveness. The AG will also develop a pilot case study, such as the NYSDOT-National Grid interface in Upstate New York, to ground the problem in a real-world planning context. The expected outcomes include a problem statement and research agenda document, a summary of relevant funding opportunities and program officer feedback, and a draft proposal concept paper. These outcomes will be shared with the broader TUUI community.
Sevgi Erdogan
Email: [email protected]