Enhancing Urban
Sustainability
Infrastructure
Mathematical Approaches for Optimizing
Investments
______
Linda Casola, Rapporteur
Board on Mathematical Sciences
and Analytics
Board on Infrastructure and the
Constructed Environment
Division on Engineering and
Physical Sciences
Proceedings of a Workshop
NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency as well as by the George and Cynthia Mitchell Endowment for Sustainability Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-70071-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-70071-X
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26905
This publication is available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2023 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academies Press and the graphical logos for each are all trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Enhancing Urban Sustainability Infrastructure: Mathematical Approaches for Optimizing Investments: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26905.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
Rapid Expert Consultations published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are authored by subject-matter experts on narrowly focused topics that can be supported by a body of evidence. The discussions contained in rapid expert consultations are considered those of the authors and do not contain policy recommendations. Rapid expert consultations are reviewed by the institution before release.
For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.
PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR A WORKSHOP ON ENHANCING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY INFRASTRUCTURE: MATHEMATICAL APPROACHES FOR OPTIMIZING INVESTMENTS
JEANNE HOLM (Chair), City of Los Angeles
JOHN R. BIRGE, NAE, University of Chicago
LEAH BROOKS, The George Washington University
JARED L. COHON, NAE, Carnegie Mellon University
KATHERINE BENNETT ENSOR, Rice University
SAMUEL LABI, Purdue University
KRISTIN LAUTER, Meta AI Research
ROBERT J. LEMPERT, RAND Corporation
SUE McNEIL, University of Delaware
MONICA SANDERS, The Undivide Project and Georgetown University
KAREN C. SETO, NAS, Yale University
SARAH SLAUGHTER, NAE, Built Environment Coalition
BARBARA BROWN WILSON, University of Virginia
Staff
BRITTANY SEGUNDO, Workshop Director
PEYTON GIBSON, Associate Program Officer (until August 2021)
NEERAJ GORKHALY, Associate Program Officer
AMISHA JINANDRA, Associate Program Officer
SAMANTHA KORETSKY, Research Assistant
JEB NUTT, College Student Intern
CAMERON OSKVIG, Director, Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Director, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics
HEATHER LOZOWSKI, Senior Finance Business Partner
BOARD ON MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND ANALYTICS
MARK L. GREEN (Chair), University of California, Los Angeles
HÉLÈNE BARCELO, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
BONNIE BERGER, NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RUSSEL E. CAFLISCH, NAS, New York University
DAVID S. CHU, Institute for Defense Analyses
DUANE COOPER, Morehouse College
JAMES H. CURRY, University of Colorado Boulder
RONALD D. FRICKER, JR., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
LYDIA E. KAVRAKI, NAM, Rice University
TAMARA G. KOLDA, NAE, MathSci.ai
PETROS KOUMOUTSAKOS, NAE, Harvard University
RACHEL KUSKE, Georgia Institute of Technology
YANN A. LeCUN, NAS/NAE, New York University
JILL C. PIPHER, Brown University
YORAM SINGER, WorldQuant
TATIANA TORO, University of Washington
LANCE A. WALLER, Emory University
AMIE WILKINSON, University of Chicago
KAREN WILLCOX, NAE, The University of Texas at Austin
Staff
MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Director
BRITTANY SEGUNDO, Program Officer
SAMANTHA KORETSKY, Research Assistant
JOSEPH PALMER, Senior Program Assistant
HEATHER LOZOWSKI, Senior Finance Business Partner
BOARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT
THOMAS P. BOSTICK (Chair), NAE, Bostick Global Strategies
BURCU AKINCI, Carnegie Mellon University
STEPHEN AYERS, Ayers Group
BURCIN BECERIK-GERBER, University of Southern California
LEAH BROOKS, The George Washington University
JACK DEMPSEY, Definitive Logic
LEONARDO DUENAS-OSORIO, Rice University
SANJIV GOKHALE, Vanderbilt University
W. DAVID GOODYEAR, NAE, Independent Consultant
DAVID J. HAUN, Haun Consulting
CHRISTOPHER J. MOSSEY, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
ANDREW PERSILY, National Institute of Standards and Technology
CHRIS D. POLAND, NAE, Chris D. Poland Consulting Engineer
JAMES RISPOLI, North Carolina State University
DOROTHY ROBYN, Boston University
SHARON L. WOOD, NAE, The University of Texas at Austin
Staff
CAMERON OSKVIG, Director
JIM MYSKA, Senior Program Officer
BRITTANY SEGUNDO, Program Officer
JAYDA WADE, Research Associate
JOSEPH PALMER, Senior Program Assistant
RADAKA LIGHTFOOT, Finance Business Partner
This page intentionally left blank.
Reviewers
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:
JARED COHON, Carnegie Mellon University
EMILY TWIGG, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by SUSAN HANSON, Clark University, and KATIRIA ORTIZ, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.
This page intentionally left blank.
Contents
I.1 Opening Remarks: Challenges and Concerns of a Mayoral Office
I.2 Organization of This Workshop Proceedings
1 LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE DECISION MAKING
1.1 Balancing Options in Decision Making
1.2 Managing Uncertainty in Local Decision Making
2 RELEVANT DATA, ANALYTICS, AND METRICS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY
2.1 Data to Action: Using Data to Support Resilience and Sustainability in the City of Houston
2.2 Relevant Community Data for Infrastructure and Sustainability
2.3 Influence of Community Infrastructure on Sustainability and Resilience Outcomes
2.4 Better Data and Measurement for Local Decisions in Times of Crisis
2.5 Metrics and Measures of Performance
2.6 Considerations in Measuring the Benefits of Infrastructure Services
3 FUNDING AND INVESTMENT MECHANISMS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
3.1 Modeling and Analytical Tools for Energy Justice
3.2 Role and Limitations of Benefit-Cost Analysis
3.3 Infrastructure Investment and Decision Making
3.4 Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s Approach to Data-Driven Infrastructure Investment
3.5 Funding and Investment in Practice
3.6 A Unique Approach to Future-Ready Infrastructure Investment
4 DECISION MAKING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
4.1 Decarbonizing Infrastructure Requires Systems Thinking and Systems Modeling
4.2 Flexible Planning and Design: A Win-Win Approach to Decision Making Under Uncertainty
4.3 Unintended Consequences of Data Collection and Use
4.4 Optimization in Problem Solving
4.5 Multi-Objective Decision Making
4.6 Cooperative and Adaptive Infrastructure Investment Pathways for Urban Water Supplies
4.7 Multi-Objective Optimization: The Plight of Cities
4.8 Coordinated Markets for Sustainability
4.10 Reducing L.A. Metro’s Infrastructure Investment Risks
4.11 Bridging the Gap Between Optimization and Action
5 BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN DATA AND INSTITUTIONS
5.1 Drivers of Data and Analytics Use Within (Smart) Cities
5.2 Strategies to Support Effective Decision Making
5.3 Creating a Community of Practice for Data Collection
5.4 Building Confidence in Data with Stakeholders in Transportation Asset Management
6 SOCIAL, PHYSICAL, AND DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
6.1 Social Infrastructure for Reducing Violence
6.3 Using Operations Research to Increase Access to Housing for Homeless Youth
7.1 Moving Beyond Short-Termism in the City of New Orleans
7.2 How Innovation Enables Program Sustainability
8 BUILDING THE IDEAL SUSTAINABLE CITY
8.1 An Urban History Lesson for the Sustainable City
8.2 Climate Impacts on Sustainability Planning
8.3 Road Trip: Sustainable Infrastructure
9 WORKSHOP THEMES AND THE PATH FORWARD
A Key Resources for Decision Makers
C Biographical Information for Workshop Planning Committee Members and Speakers
This page intentionally left blank.