Community Planning + Visualization Lab

The "smart city" revolution seems at times to be just around the corner. How integrated will technology become into the urban fabric? What are the tradeoffs of different levels and methods of integration? In order to fully reap the benefits of smart cities, these questions and more will need to be investigated.

Proponents have hailed self-driving cars as a convenient cure for automotive addiction and its flaws, but they can only go so far in solving our transportation sector's issues. How much of an impact will they really end up having in advancing the agenda of making America more sustainable and livable?

A smart city with dumb policies will do about as much good as a pen with no ink. No amount of tech can supplant knowledgeable human operators and a participating pool of residents. Mainly because, as much as it pains Sam Altman when I say this, technology doesn't understand us. Only we understand us. And we are undeniably biased: a bias that leaks into every tool we've ever made that attempts to use logic or reasoning like we do.

Ethical Smart Cities are those where new technologies are used to reduce inequality rather than deepen it, where personal data is protected rather than exploited, and where decisions reflect the voices of all residents instead of tech companies and the political elites. As planners, we must advocate for policies that embed equity, privacy, and participation into every smart initiative.

A new chapter in environmental education and community empowerment began in Camden, New Jersey, as local leaders, educators, and...

How many hours a week do you spend outdoors? Perhaps this is not something you have ever really thought about. For many adult Americans,...

Dr. Meenar and his Community Planning + Visualization Lab at Rowan University are pleased to announce their receipt of a $100,000 grant...

Over the past few weeks, the United States Supreme Court has shocked the country with their major decisions. With many left raged by the...

Normal growth and development as well as physical health and mental well-being all rely on consumption of nutritious foods throughout all...

Rowan University received funding from the NJ Department of Disability Services to increase inclusivity of individuals with disabilities...

When we think about hunger, we all have a particular picture in mind—the little boy with the abnormally large round belly, the woman with...

On March 26, the Glassboro Health Equity Coalition convened virtually to discuss project ideas for Phase II of the Glassboro Food and...

Amid a year of pandemic-related chaos and passionate movements to eradicate systemic racism, one positive consequence of the tumult has...

After a long winter, spring is finally in the air! Springtime is a season of new beginnings, of warmer weather, and of sunshine. The buds...

Clean air is an important aspect of health. Despite this, many Americans continue to breathe unhealthy air, and the burden is unevenly...

The concept of the 15-minute neighborhood has been part of planning vernacular for well over a decade as a way to promote walkability and...

The process of becoming a beginner gardener can seem intimidating when a family doesn’t have firsthand experience with growing their own...

New Jersey is subsidizing the burning of trash. In the article ‘Paying for pollution’: As N.J.’s incinerators dirty the air, electric...

In an individualized and somewhat apathetic society, we don’t care about each other’s problems until and unless it happens to us. In the...