{"id":138780,"date":"2024-01-11T10:28:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T15:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//?p=138780"},"modified":"2025-04-16T15:51:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T19:51:37","slug":"ucf-research-team-moves-to-build-mobile-resilience-hubs-for-local-neighborhoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//ucf-research-team-moves-to-build-mobile-resilience-hubs-for-local-neighborhoods/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Research Team Moves to Build Mobile Resilience Hubs for Local Neighborhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2022, a team of researchers from 166su/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019s College of Community Innovation and Education and College of Engineering and Computer Science set out to solve an elusive question plaguing local officials: How do you provide critical services to residents where and when they need it after a disaster?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

Neighborhoods throughout Orlando could easily find themselves without power, internet and mobility after significant weather events. Effective local response requires a mobile, self-sustaining solution to provide residents with services ranging from device charging and air-conditioned space to laundry to food distribution and even ice for food preservation. Even more, could such a solution also provide educational resources for residents to prepare for future emergencies more effectively?/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

Kelly Stevens, assistant professor of public administration and the project/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019s principal investigator, has been working with fellow 166su researchers to bring this vision to life. Together with the City of Orlando and other community leaders, the team has spent the past year conceptualizing what an effective Resilience, Education, and Advocacy Center for Hazard Preparedness (REACH) hub would look like./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

Now, they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019re ready to put their ideas into action./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

The team recently received approval and funding for the project/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019s second phase from the National Science Foundation/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019s CIVIC program, which involved presenting the findings from the project/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u2019s first phase and successfully demonstrating its feasibility./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

Stevens serves on the REACH project team with Yue /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201cGurt/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201d Ge, public administration associate professor, L. Trenton S. Marsh, urban education assistant professor, Liqiang Wang, computer science professor, and Zhihua Qu, electrical and computer engineering professor, who serve as co-principal investigators. Senior personnel on the project include Maritza Concha, nonprofit management lecturer; Christopher Emrich, emergency management professor; and Kristopher Davis, associate professor of materials science and engineering./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201cWe are extremely happy with the success of Phase I,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201d Stevens says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201cWe had over 300 responses from residents to the community survey we built with our partners, which informed our design process in a way that allowed us to really co-design these hubs with and for the community./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/138780/n