Data-Driven Research Aims to Solve First/Last-Mile Problem

MetroLab Network has partnered with Government Technology to bring its readers a segment called the MetroLab Innovation of the Month Series, which highlights impactful tech, data and innovation projects underway between cities and universities. If you'd like to learn more or contact the project leads, please contact MetroLab at info@metrolabnetwork.org for more information. In this month's installment of the Innovation of the Month series, we explore the work of Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta on the Socially Aware Mobility Lab (SAM). MetroLab's Ben Levine spoke with Pascal Van Hentenryck, an A. Russell Chandler III chair and professor in the Georgia Tech Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and head of the SAM Lab; Jacob Tzegaegbe, senior transportation policy advisor for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and part of the SAM advisory board; and Debra Lam, managing director of smart cities and inclusive innovation at Georgia Tech. Ben Levine: Can you please describe the origin and objective of the Socially Aware Mobility Lab, and who has been involved in the project?