As active transportation gains popularity, ensuring the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists has become a critical focus for urban planners and transportation engineers. Accurate traffic volume data is essential for generating robust insights into safety research. This seminar will explore the innovative use of Location-Based Service (LBS) data to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. LBS data, generated from mobile devices and applications, can be utilized to analyze traffic volumes, identify high-risk areas, and assess crash risks. By integrating LBS data with traditional safety metrics, planners and engineers can develop predictive models and data-driven strategies to enhance urban mobility, reduce crash risks, and create safer, more accessible environments for pedestrians and bicyclists. Funded by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT).

About the Speakers:
Yunwoo Nam is a Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Additionally, he is an affiliated professor of the School of Global Integrative Studies and Geography and a fellow of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska. He earned his Ph.D in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nam has been honored with prestigious awards, including the UCGIS (University Consortium for Geographic Information Science) junior faculty award, the Hawthorne Distinguished Faculty Award, and the Hyde Professorship. His areas of expertise includes Spatial analysis using GIS and spatial statistics, active transportation, healthy community, community assessments, urban walkability, urban growth management, and sustainable development.

Dr. Jason Hawkins is an Assistant Professor jointly in the Department of Civil Engineering and the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscapes at the University of Calgary. He was previously an Assistant Professor (2021-2024) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto and M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Calgary. Dr. Hawkins completed postdoctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin. His primary research focus is the analysis of travel behavior through the application of a wide range of analytic tools.