Congratulations to Dr. Yan Wang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and a core faculty member of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER), who has received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. This honor is one of the NSF’s most competitive awards, recognizing early-career faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars and have the potential to lead advances in research and education.
Dr. Wang’s CAREER project, titled “Generative Deep Learning for Post-Disaster Spatial Regeneration Planning,” will integrate cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) techniques into urban and regional planning methodologies and processes. This groundbreaking research addresses the critical need for innovative spatial planning approaches during long-term disaster recovery and community redevelopment.
By fusing GenAI with planning theory and ethics, Dr. Wang’s work seeks to promote spatial equity, economic vitality, and housing affordability while ensuring responsible use of advanced technologies. Her approach is designed to enhance the ability of planners to guide redevelopment in ways that avoid repeating past spatial disadvantages and to strengthen community resilience across a variety of disaster and planning contexts.
“Our goal is to responsibly harness the power of GenAI to create resilient and thriving communities,” said Dr. Wang. “This research not only reimagines spatial regeneration but also contributes to national workforce development in urban planning and AI.”
The project will develop novel GenAI algorithms capable of balancing multiple planning goals, accounting for spatial interconnectivity, and supporting incremental, transactive planning processes. It will also explore how planners perceive and interact with GenAI tools, laying the groundwork for anticipatory governance frameworks to ensure ethical deployment.
In addition to its research contributions, the project includes robust educational initiatives. These include learner-tailored pedagogies, new authentic learning modules, an online course, and curricular studies aimed at integrating AI into urban analytics education. Together, these elements support the development of a new generation of planners equipped to lead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Dr. Wang’s integrated research, education, and outreach efforts will help build cyberinfrastructure for planning research and education, contributing to the creation of more resilient, informed, and future-ready cities.
Learn more about the NSF CAREER Award here: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2440023&HistoricalAwards=false