GLASS Project

Abstract:

Hurricanes in Puerto Rico disproportionately impact the island’s poorest residents, who often lack the resources necessary to recover and rebuild. This paper outlines a proposed solution aimed to assisting citizens in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of such disasters. Though there are relevant relief organizations catering to natural disaster relief efforts, there is a gap streamlining these efforts and catering to the top priority or must vulnerable communities first. The solution proposed considers aspects such as limited network bandwidth of citizens post-hurricane, the characteristics which classify vulnerability of an area, and efficient methods of communication among organizations to display relevant information. With these considerations, the system was designed with the primarily functionalities: to reflect the vulnerabilities of communities in the form of an interactive map dashboard, enable communication among providers via a chat system, and enable emergency calls for citizens to tag when they need help. All functionalities are detailed with individual scopes of design including use case diagrams, system architecture & flow, and various interaction diagrams to detail how all components of the systems are interacting with each other. Additionally, significant attention is given to the business considerations of the system, considering market risks and ensuring sustainability. The paper concludes with detailing various testing and product lifecycle improvement methods, which is important when considering meeting functional and non-functional requirements and iterating accordingly. In conclusion, this paper presents a comprehensive solution designed to address the challenges faced by Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities, offering a blueprint for effective disaster relief efforts and resilience-building measures.

This paper aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, notably Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, as it addresses the challenges confronting communities in Puerto Rico. The proposed system contributes to enhancing infrastructure resilience by fostering sustainable industrialization. Furthermore, Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities is pertinent, as the system ensures prompt assistance to vulnerable areas following natural disasters. This project resonates with my personal goals, which initially focused on exploring the role of technology in sustainable land management. Through iterative development, I identified a niche where I could contribute meaningfully. By integrating in-application data such as call volume and relief organizer visits, along with external data like the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, I have created a system capable of identifying community vulnerabilities and facilitating efficient communication with relevant organizations. These goals align with some of my professional experience: During my internship at Nike, I focused on optimizing data systems and enhancing the observability of APIs. This effort aimed to make industrial processes more efficient and improve overall infrastructure. At JPMorgan Chase & Co., my role involved increasing the reliability of their iOS retail application and implementing strategies to minimize data usage, which are critical for maintaining robust and secure industrial systems. Currently, I'm involved in developing cutting-edge telehealth applications at Vital Audio @ NYU Future Labs, which reflects my commitment to fostering innovation within the industry.