Local Columbia Program Students Meet with Senior Residents to Discuss Safer Streets

Last summer, a community-driven research center based at Columbia, Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3), hosted the MyStreetscape Summer Research Institute, a paid internship that brought local high school students together to explore how wireless technologies can forge livable, safe, and inclusive communities. 

The students tackled this question head-on, conducting interviews with local residents and curating a public photography exhibit at The Forum. Their work initiated a public dialogue on the intersection of technology and community. 

This summer, a new group of high school students joined CS3 to focus specifically on creating safer streetscapes for older adults in their own neighborhoods. Zeroing in on the older adult population, students tailored their research and engagement strategies to understand their needs as pedestrians. 

As part of their outreach, the students visited the Jackie Robinson Senior Center and the A. Philip Randolph Senior Center near Columbia’s Manhattanville campus to hear the perspective of seniors in the Harlem community. These visits provided valuable insights into the pedestrian experience of older adults in the area, highlighting both their concerns and hopes for the neighborhood.

“I discovered through field research that some pedestrians have concerns with lack of traffic law enforcement,” said Gynnel Jeffrey, a rising senior at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology. “For example, e-bikers should learn to follow traffic rules as one step toward making Harlem’s streets safer.”

Jeffrey also found that many residents were open to increased streetscape technology if it enhanced safety and accessibility. “Many people that we have listened to were open to increased technology on streetscapes so long as it fulfills its purposes in the community such as safety and accessibility," Jeffrey said. 

The students were particularly inspired by the seniors’ deep reverence for their community and their commitment to maintaining public spaces.

“The experience taught me that the Harlem community values safety, accessibility, and public spaces,” said Tyler Chow, a rising senior at Manhattan Center for Science and Math in Harlem. 

“By interviewing residents, we learned that the community is open to thoughtfully designed streetscapes as long as they prioritize safety, foster a vibrant and cleaner city, and enhance the overall urban experience.”  

These key insights helped students create detailed reports on streetscape and pedestrian safety at CS3 which they presented to Columbia Engineering and community members.

“As a team, we presented our final research project on how to technologically improve the safety of older adults traveling around the city, and the importance of solutions being accepted and trusted by the community,” said Allegra Advincula, a rising senior at LaGuardia High School of Music. “Our conversations at the senior centers helped guide our engineering plans in our final project because they identified community members' primary concerns, such as the dangers from e-bikes, and taught us how to build technological solutions trusted by the people."

The students’ work with local seniors will be important reference points for CS3 researchers in the years to come. Like last year, CS3 students will also showcase their work in a public photography exhibition, continuing to spark dialogue around streetscape technology.

See the photos from the students’ visits with the senior centers and their final presentations below.