Feb. 17, 2025

As the hub of urban resilience research at Georgia Tech, the Center for Urban Resilience and Analytics (CURA) will integrate disciplines from across campus and innovative data science tools to advance urban regions' resiliency.

This new, interdisciplinary research center specializes in the intricate challenges cities and urban regions encounter due to infrastructural, social, economic, and climate-related stressors. Housed in the College of Design, CURA will blend research from world-class leaders in geospatial information science, urban planning, and urban analytics, with research partners across the Institute.

CURA is the next chapter of research from the College of Design's Center for Spatial Planning and Analytics, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, as well as the Urban Climate Lab in the School of City and Regional Planning, executive director Subhro Guhathakurta said.

"Through regular collaboration with groups like the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, the Strategic Energy Institute, and the Institute for People and Technology, we found that the urban-based nature of our work regularly extends efforts throughout Georgia Tech's research and academic communities."

"By combining expertise from different research centers, CURA can tackle complex urban problems holistically, integrating science, policy, and design to improve community equity and resilience," Guhathakurta said.

"Climate change is intensifying issues like extreme heat, floods, and infrastructure failures, making it crucial for cities to enhance their resilience and adaptive responses," Guhathakurta said. "That means major cities need effective climate adaptation plans and resilient infrastructure."

Citing the recent fires in Los Angeles and hurricanes throughout the South, CURA Associate Director Brian Stone said, "There is no major city that will be left untouched by a rising incidence of climate disaster, such as rapidly spreading wildfire, hurricane-induced flooding hundreds of miles from the nearest coastline, or blackouts triggered by intense heat waves."

"Cities are not simply the zones of impact; our cities amplify these events through their physical design," Stone said. "CURA draws upon extensive expertise in urban climatology, city-resilient design, and data analytics to shape the strategies that will better fire-, flood-, and heat-proof our cities against climate events unfolding in all regions of the country and planet.

"In the case of Los Angeles' ongoing wildfire, CURA expertise can provide key insights into urban wildfire prevention and recovery: where to rebuild, how to rebuild, and — in spaces too hazardous to safely rebuild — what modes of adaptive infrastructure will be most protective of the larger population," he said.

Guhathakurta points out that advancements in data analytics are key to why disciplines like climate risk assessment, community planning, and adaptive design are so powerful right now. 

"New technologies and data science tools offer opportunities to understand better and address urban challenges, allowing for innovative solutions in planning and response strategies," Guhathakurta said.