UFII Covid Seed Awardees Virtual Seminar Series – Dr. Yujie Hu
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UFII Covid Seed Awardees Virtual Seminar Series – Dr. Yujie Hu
December 4, 2020 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
UFII COVID-19 SEED Awardees Virtual Seminar Series
“Examining the relationship between COVID-19 and crime – a pilot study in Florida” by Dr. Yujie Hu
Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography
Friday, December 4, 2020
ABSTRACT:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been seriously affecting the U.S. in many aspects especially the economy. Economic crises can have devastating social consequences, for example, rise in crime. However, the unprecedented restrictive measures such as social distancing and lockdown during COVID-19 have complicated the long-recognized connection between economy and crime. With most Americans at home, increases in crime rate may not be expected for all crime types, and routine operations of law enforcement agencies likely undergo changes.
This research aims to use data-driven methods for understanding the economic impacts of COVID-19 through the lens of crime and providing effective policy implications. Specifically, how has COVID-19 affected a region’s crime rate in the short term; and how will it affect a region’s crime statistics in the long term? Data science methods will be used to identify their statistical relationships, perform change detection on crime hotspots, and predict crime rates as COVID-19 cases escalate over space and time. Results from this research can help law enforcement agencies determine the best emergency response and resource allocation strategies.
Bio:
Dr. Yujie Hu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida, where he leads the GeoNAVI (Geospatial Network Analysis and Visualization) Lab (https://geonavilab.geog.ufl.edu). He is also affiliated with the UF Informatics Institute and UF Transportation Institute, and is a Fellow with the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. Prior to his current position, he was an Assistant Professor in the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Hu’s research and teaching interests are urban transportation, human mobility, and accessibility. His current research focuses on three main areas: 1) relationships between people’s mobility within cities—including commuting, healthcare-seeking, and crime—and the urban built environment, 2) spatial accessibility to opportunities, such as jobs, healthcare, food, and transportation infrastructure, and how it is affected by natural hazards, and, 3) network flow analysis and optimization of travel patterns related to commuting, bike sharing, healthcare, and food delivery.
Dr. Hu is a recipient of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). His research has been supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), Florida Sea Grant, Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO), and the American Association of Geographers (AAG). He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Southeastern Geographer and the Board of the Transportation Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers.