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Smart Mobility Corridors: Exploring Freight Automation for Brown County, WI

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

What applications do emerging automation technologies have for the future of freight andshipping in Brown County?

The two-person University of Oregon team of Joshua Skov and Graduate Student assessed possible technology and vendor options for a “smart mobility” corridor for freight coming into and leaving from the Port of Green Bay.

To explore this possibility, the team conducted market research to determine the keytechnologies in question, including vendors and business models, and the extent to which theyrequire surrounding 5G infrastructure, conducting interviews with industry thought leaders inautomation and freight logistics to gain insight on technology applications, implementation,and best practices.

Based on this research and outside examples of AV testing and pilots, the team developedthree potential deployment models for Brown County and assessed their feasibility. Whilethere are indeed exciting opportunities for automation to disrupt freight and logistics, the teamfound that there is a lack of technology or business ecosystem maturity at this moment torecommend a particular public-sector investment or pilot project in Brown County at this time.

First, fully-autonomous vehicle technology is nascent; many have pushed back the notion oflevel 4 or 5 autonomous trucks reaching scale for a decade or more. Second, partial andconditional autonomy including driver assist features and platooning are sweeping the logisticsindustry, but do not require any special regulatory approval, since the State of Wisconsinrecently approved the use of platooning.

However, the team lays out several next steps that Brown County can take to keep up with thepace of innovation in smart mobility. These include taking part in statewide strategyconversations, engaging with local industry, and investing in conventional infrastructureimprovements, which will make the region an enticing opportunity for future deployments.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

Analysis of Autonomous Vehicles in Brown County, WI

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

With autonomous vehicle (AV) pilot programs rolling out across the country, Brown County, Wisconsin, the third-largest city in Wisconsin and home of the Green Bay Packers, is looking to create its own multi-passenger AV route. Three routes have been identified by Brown County as having potential for a pilot route. The first route circulates the downtown area of Green Bay around popular downtown restaurants and attractions. The second route runs through Green Bay’s title town district and the infamous Lambeau Field. The third route transports passengers between the Austin-Straubel International Airport and Oneida Casino. To provide completeness in AV concept understanding, an in-depth analysis of AV technology is explained with details of connected vehicle technology and interaction. Infrastructure interactions are also considered including maintenance, parking, charging, and data management. To provide information on the current safety concerns and related established standards and metrics, an overview of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Envision system and National Society of Professional Engineer’s AV Policy guide is also outlined. Examples of successful AV implementationsin other communities are included to analyze successes and failures of other AV routes before going into the three routes’ overviews and analyses. Ease of implementation is also considered before the final route decision is presented with relevant criteria evaluated and further justifications of the decision are included. The goal is to evaluate the routes for an autonomous vehicle system and recommend the most optimal AV pilot route for Brown County based on community benefit, cost, traffic data, and frequency of use.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

Sustainable Road Maintenance Options for Brown County, Wisconsin

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

The Brown County, Wisconsin Public Works department engaged the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year Program to develop a cost-benefit analysis of roadside maintenance options. This report addresses specific strategies including application of aquatic herbicides, planting low-mow grass, hiring goats to graze ditches, leasing innovative equipment, and using prescribed fire to control invasive species while ideally also reducing annual maintenance costs. In ddition to analysis of the costs of each strategy, this report includes information about the terrestrial invasive species of concern in Brown County (phragmites, wild parsnip, thistle, and poison hemlock) as well as case studies that describe current practices for roadside maintenance in similar counties in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Consideration of each of these elements led to a recommendation to incorporate multiple strategies into roadside maintenance based on
andscape factors. Of thestrategies investigated, low-mow grass and goats present the greatest potential for future cost savings while improving the landscape and minimizing risks to human and environmental health.

This project was conducted in partnership with the University of Oregon.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

Exploring Blue-Green Algae Harvesting Designs

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

A proposed mechanical design for blue-green algae removal including a plankton net and a boat. This supports the SDG 15.1 because it aids in restoring the ecosystem in the Lower Fox River by removing harmful BGA. UniverCity Year Contact Info Gavin Luter Managing Director gavin@cows.org 608-261-1141 [...]

Investigating blue-green algae harvesting: Lower Fox River, Wisconsin

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

Blue-green algae is alargeissue for the Lower Fox River in Brown County, Wisconsin. The Lower Fox River feeds into the bay of Green Bayandflowsthroughdensely populated areas.Excessive blue-green algae blooms have become increasingly prevalent in Brown County in recent years, largely due to nutrient runoff from local industry, lawn fertilizers and agricultural fertilizers. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous accumulateinwaterways,creating conditions that allow forexplosive blue-green algae growthduring the warmer months of the year. Blue-green algae is harmful to humans,animals,and reducesproperty values of residents nearaffected waterways. In humans, exposure tohigh levelsofblue-green algaecan result in skin irritationand flu like symptoms.Foranimals, high levels ofexposurecan lead to irritationof skin, damage to internal organs, and death. Blue-green algae grown can also have effectson people who don’t come intocontact with waterways.Waterways with high levels of blue-green algaeare often discolored and emit offensive odors that can be carried by wind to nearby communities. These effects, along with decreased tourism and on-water recreation, can reduce property valuesin communities near waterways with excessive blue-green algae.Ateam ofundergraduate mechanical engineeringstudents from the University of Wisconsin-MadisonCollege of Engineeringweretasked with developinga methodto cost effectively and efficientlyremove blue-green algae from the Lower Fox River.

In this report, the effects of blue-green algae are discussed, researchon possible harvesting solutions are laid out,andthe chosen method of removing algae using a boat towing a plankton net is analyzed andoptimizedto maximize cost effectiveness and overall harvesting efficiency.Due to limitations includingtime constraints, budget constraints, and breadth of expertise,the project was significantly narrowed tofocus onanalyzing an optimized boat-towed plankton net.The team focused ondetermining the drag force induced by the netto correlate net drag, on a per net basis, to boat fuel consumption in order to minimizeoperating cost.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

A Library for Community Futures

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

Our goal for this report is to assist the Brown County Library in strategic planning. The original questions posed by Brown County Library director Sarah Sugden were:
• What measurement and assessment tools accurately measure outreach services?
• What role does library programming (virtual and in-person) play in supporting
community learning? Will this change?
• What are effective strategies to assess and address local needs and priorities?
• How can a county library system support its community creators?
• How can the library partner with local municipal governments and regional
organizations?
• What are the ways the library can use technology to connect communities in a third
virtual space?

Much of our report addresses the realities and challenges of creating a welcoming environment for patrons and answering the above questions considering the health and safety restrictions necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While our report was conducted during the fall 2020 semester, which of course influenced our findings, the virtual programming and creation of a third virtual space is a worthwhile pursuit even without the presence of a pandemic.

Our report suggests that the Brown County Library lean on the idea of “library as space,” physical or virtual, to create a community learning environment. Partnerships with local municipalities, organizations, and community groups will be vital; we suggest methods of partnering. We also examined peer and rival organizations for how they have created the types of programming and spaces that the Brown County Library desiresB, and have made recommendations accordingly.

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Harvesting Blue-Green Algae in Brown County, Wisconsin

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

This report provides a cost-benefit analysis of the removal of blue-green algae (BGA)from the waterways of Brown County. BGAis a common but toxic bacteriaprone to rapid and uncontrolled growth.Itcan be found in waters around the world,includingthose inBrown County. These algal bloomshave become increasingly frequent and sizeable in Brown County and pose threats to human and animalhealth, decrease property values, reduce tourism, and destroy local aquatic ecosystems. We estimate that an algaeremovalprogram would result between$7.4million(30percentremoval) and$43million (90percentremoval)in net social benefitsover 20 years.The netfiscalcostsrangefrom $5million (30percentremoval) to$2.3million (90percentremoval)for the county over 20 years.

Addressing Blue-Green Algae in Brown County, WI

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

Blue-green algae is a dangerous toxin in waters local to Brown County. The blooms formfrom nutrient-rich water and can best be removed through the process of coagulation andflocculation, as seen in Figure 2. Once the algae is removed it can be utilized in many ways, butwith current technology, biofertilizer is the best option for Brown [...]

Evidence Based Practices in Prisoner Reentry: What Does the Research Say?

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:13 +0000

This project is an exploration of evidence-based reentry research, resources, and areas for growth. The following resource was completed by students in UW Madison Psych Senior Capstone “Issues in Prisoner Reentry” provided by Dr. Patti Coffey in collaboration with Brown County & the UniverCity Alliance project.

Students explored issues related to 1) the impact of incarceration on families, 2) programs providing community involved support for reentry, 3) the role of specialized treatment courts with a focus on mental health courts, 4) the need to address mental and physical health issues, 5) the role of employment and housing challenges related to reentry, and 6) the special needs of juveniles in the system. The class started with students attending a virtual reentry conference and examining best practices related to working in the community, practiced the development of active listening and interview skills, and developed a plan for reaching out to Brown County professionals and community members. The completed project involved students completing two separate processes and resulted in each group completing two components.

•First, students at the start of the semester began gathering research and media resourcesrelated to reentry issues. This included searching for media articles related specifically to BrownCounty. They continued to expand research gathering throughout the semester. For the finalprojects, each group found the most relevant articles and then developed annotatedbibliographies for their topic area. The goal was to develop a resource of relevant researcharticles and other resources related to reentry for Brown County. The final projected included asummary page for an overview of the key findings in the resource packet.

•Second, each group conducted interviews and explored resources in Brown County. They discovered many innovative programs in Brown County. Each group then developed an Asset Map to represent all the strengths in Brown County and provided a summary of the interviewinformation they gathered.

In addition to developing an understanding of the issues related to prisoner reentry, students gainedvaluable professional experience regarding how to consult and contribute to community agencies. A major goal of this course is to contribute to a “real world” understanding of how psychology cancontribute in a meaningful way to the needs of communities in Wisconsin and beyond. The goal is forthis course exemplifies the UW civic engagement plan in action by enacting a collaboration that is mutually beneficial for students and community partners. Students were pleased by how helpful people were when they reached out amid this pandemic to ask for time for an interview. An overall impression of Brown County from these interviews and the review of the resources is that Brown County is advanced in many ways in comparison to other regions in Wisconsin. Students were extremely impressed with the strong commitment to improve reentry services by various parties from various positions. They were also incredibly grateful to be part of a class project that may be of service in the “real world”. We thank Brown County for the opportunity to engage in this exploration of evidence-based practices and the programs in place and provide “wish lists” for further improvement of reentry practices in Brown County.

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UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141