SCC-DG: Leveraging Data and Community-Driven Freight Systems to Support Urban Agriculture Models for Enhancing Food Access

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $149,992 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

This Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) development project supports research that aims to enhance access to fresh, nutritious food in urban areas by designing integrated supply-side, community-driven freight systems and urban agriculture models that scale into economically viable urban food logistics networks. This initiative aims to establish urban agriculture as a vital component of infrastructure, enhancing the availability of food for everyone. Despite the availability of food outlets in cities across the U.S., many neighborhoods still lack reliable access to healthy food due to persistent logistical, infrastructure, and economic barriers. Previous efforts have focused on consumer behavior and demand-side systems, while supply-side logistic systems—particularly those leveraging existing community assets—have remained underexplored. This research seeks to enable the U.S. to improve national health outcomes and urban economic vitality by supporting neighborhood-based food production and delivery, developing new planning tools for cities, and expanding opportunities for students and residents to actively participate in designing food distribution systems. The research project's vision is to establish a data collection system that will eventually enable the development of an Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Decision-Support System (AIEDSS), which models food distribution through the combined perspectives of infrastructure, logistics, and social networks. This project

Key facts

NSF award ID
2531382
Awardee
Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GA)
SAM.gov UEI
EMW9FC8J3HN4
PI
Sofia Perez-Guzman
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
S&CC: Smart and Connected Communities, Machine Learning Theory, Translational Research, WOMEN, MINORITY, DISABLED, NEC
Estimated total
$149,992
Funds obligated
$149,992
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
08/15/2025 → 07/31/2027