Innovation Newsletter Issue 29: Spring 2018

Creating tomorrow's cities today: An introspective on city building

Message from the Vice-President, Research & Innovation

Our increasingly globalized world renders obsolete the kind of inward-facing planning that benefits only the immediate city and its current population. Modern city building takes into account the strength of urban hubs while remembering their place in a much larger ecosystem.

We are better equipped than ever before to rise to the challenge. Be it through data generated and gathered via global mapping systems, social media, street level tracking sensors, or a host of other new and emerging technologies, the science of building great cities has a wealth of information ready to be harvested, parsed and analyzed.

The work profiled in this issue is illustrative of Ryerson's focus on city building and the important challenges and opportunities in cities.

This publication is made possible, in part, with the support of the Research Support Fund.

Intersection

Promoting ethnic businesses and entrepreneurship can help newcomers integrate

Professors Zhixi Zhuang and Wendy Cukier’s work intersect on the subject of immigrant entrepreneurs. Their research discusses the push and pull of how immigrant entrepreneurs contribute to society and how as a society we can help them succeed.

In Our Community

More funding and staffing needed to bolster Toronto’s “Sanctuary City” policy

Toronto’s sanctuary city policy needs funding and staffing in order to serve those for who it was created say criminology professors Graham Hudson and Idil Atak.

Arts and Culture

Photographer Robert Burley visualizes Toronto’s defining feature

Professor Robert Burley has captured the city’s ravine in a photographic book in order to help planners communicate to residents the importance of these untouched spaces.

Meet the Expert

Inspecting bridges without the risk

Professor Alex Ferworn (Computer Sciences) applies robots to jobs that are too dangerous for humans. His most recent endeavour uses drones to inspect bridges, making the process safer and allowing for more frequent inspections.

Idea to Innovation

Lighting a path for sustainability

By creating new bulbs that outfitted with the same sockets as traditional fluorescent tubes, professor Kristiina Mai has built smart, LED lights that are a sustainable option and can reduce overall energy costs, while being simple and easy to replace.

360 Degrees

360 Degrees explores a research topic from two different angles. In this issue we examine planning for better transportation options in an urban setting.

Using big data and virtual reality to plan for connected and autonomous vehicles

Automated vehicles are coming, but how do we share the road with these vehicles safely? Professor Bilal Farooq uses big data and virtual reality to explore how we will interact with vehicles of the future.

Ryerson researcher examines the benefits of expanding cycling infrastructure

While technology is driving future transportation, one of the most sustainable options is still the bicycle. Professor Raktim Mitra examines how cities can encourage cycling through the use of infrastructure.

Student Feature

Two inaugural fellows to shape freshwater policy in Canada

Katherine Minich, Policy Studies PhD student and Edgar Tovilla, Environmental Applied Science and Management PhD student are the inaugural Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellows, and their research is aimed at sustainable water policies and practices.