Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computer Science

Committee Chair

Tathagata Mukherjee

Committee Member

Chaity Banerjee Mukherjee

Committee Member

Sundar Christopher

Research Advisor

Tathagata Mukherjee

Subject(s)

Data sets--Management, Machine learning, Environmental justice

Abstract

Equity and Environmental Justice (EEJ) advocates for unbiased distribution of environmental impacts across communities, regardless of social and economic characteristics. After extreme events like natural disasters, EEJ gains importance due to evident disparities in impact among communities. Addressing these injustices requires comprehensive datasets and analytical methods for quantification and resolution. While AI and advanced data analysis offer promising solutions, creating AI-ready EEJ datasets is challenging due to heterogeneity in the data surrounding EEJ. In this work, we focus on curating novel datasets for EEJ targeting a few recent extreme events - Maui Wildfire, Hurricane Harvey, and Hurricane Ida. We demonstrate the utility of the datasets using preliminary analysis with machine learning and AI enabled methods. Succinctly, we created masks to identify EEJ issues and generated nuanced insights employing machine learning, image processing and statistical methods. This study has the potential to empower authorities in data-driven policy-making, disaster management, and resource allocation, addressing the actual needs of affected communities.

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