Technology-enabled Infrastructure Analysis of its Economics, Public Benefits and Urban Experience By SEA HOON KIM Bachelor of Architecture Rice University, Houston TX Submitted to the Department of Architecture and the Center for Real Estate in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degrees of Master of Science in Architecture Studies and Master of Science in Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology May 2020 ©2020 Sea Hoon Kim. All Rights Reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: ___________________________________________________________________ Department of Architecture Center for Real Estate March 30, 2020 Certified by: _________________________________________________________________________ James L. Wescoat Jr. Aga Khan Professor, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning Thesis Co-Supervisor Certified by: _________________________________________________________________________ David M. Geltner Professor of Real Estate Finance Thesis Co-Supervisor Accepted by: _________________________________________________________________________ Leslie K. Norford Chairman, Committee on Graduate Students, Department of Architecture Accepted by: _________________________________________________________________________ Dennis Frenchman Class of 1922 Professor of Urban Design and Planning Director, Center for Real Estate 1 Committee James L. Wescoat Jr. Aga Khan Professor, Professor of Architecture Thesis Co-Supervisor David M. Geltner Professor of Real Estate Finance Thesis Co-Supervisor 2 Technology-enabled Infrastructure Analysis of its Economics, Public Benefits and Urban Experience by Sea Hoon Kim Submitted to the Department of Architecture and the Center for Real Estate on March 30, 2020 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degrees of Master of Science in Architecture Studies and Master of Science in Real Estate Development Abstract This research proposes a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding technology- enabled infrastructure. Three strategies –creating new assets, layering uses and increasing utilization– are identified, which constitute technology-enabled infrastructure. The strategies are studied and analyzed through interviews and a case-based method. The cases discussed are Link NYC and BigBelly, both in contexts in New York City. These cases are evaluated using four lenses that are economic, social, environmental and user/urban experience. Variables are selected based on their pertinence to technology-enabled infrastructure, and they form the basis for understanding the intrinsic value of each case. These variables are public benefit, competition, physical, digital and social. Early findings indicate that creating and retaining ability to innovate throughout the lifespan of an infrastructure is a key element to technology-enabled infrastructure. To ensure a lasting success, the three strategies of infrastructure are recommended to be seen as a part of larger strategy, not as single or parallel strategies. Thesis Co-Supervisor: James L. Wescoat Jr. Title: Aga Khan Professor, Professor of Architecture Thesis Co-Supervisor: David M. Geltner Title: Professor of Real Estate Finance 3 Acknowledgements My journey at MIT has not been a linear one to say the least. I found interest and passion in the unfamiliar and was not afraid to venture into uncharted territory. My biggest accomplishment in the past two and a half years undoubtedly was meeting many kind souls and brilliant minds. I had the great privilege of calling them my friends, teachers and advisors. They guided me, supported me and gave me courage to create my own path. Our journeys are set to diverge and take different turns, but I wish to be present through all of our highs and lows. Writing this thesis, I often found myself feeling lost, like I was inside of a black hole. The mentors I met during my journey helped me understand where I stood and the direction I faced. Above all, they showed me what it is like to have an idea and pursue it assiduously. I am eager to carry on and practice what I have found at MIT, and I look forward to continuing our dialogues. Thank you to each and every one of you. 4 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Preface 6 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 1.1 The Problem 9 1.2 The Opportunity 13 1.3 The Solution 18 1.4 Research Question 20 1.5 Intended Contribution 21 Chapter 2: Technology-enabled Infrastructure 22 2.1 Literature Review: What is Infrastructure? 22 2.2 Conceptual Framework 27 2.3 Methodology 32 Chapter 3: Link NYC 35 3.1 Life of an Infrastructure 36 3.2 Construct 41 3.3 Realization 44 3.4 Analysis 52 Chapter 4: BigBelly 64 4.1 BigBelly 1.0 66 4.2 Progress 71 4.3 BigBelly 2.0 77 4.4 Analysis 79 Chapter 5: Conclusions 87 5.1 Epilogue 91 Chapter 6: Sources 94 5 Preface Before I start my thesis, I’d like to share a short personal story. The intention here is to have readers get used to what I observe, how I build on my observations and the way I tell my story. Most importantly, the story unfolds my journey to conceptualizing technology-enabled infrastructure and why I am excited about the topic. I have an uncle and his family in the State of New York. Thanks to their hospitality, I was lucky to get to visit the Empire State and New York City throughout my youth while growing up in South Korea. In 2006, the vague sense of familiarity and fascination for the new and different led me to decide to school in the United States. I vividly remember the first time I took my family to Times Square after a multi-day tour of prospective high schools. My brother, then 10 years old, made a pilgrimage to the Toy R Us flagship store, we took photos in front of dazzling billboards and watched Lion King half asleep (Fig. 01). Figure 01. Times Square in 2006. Taken by Author Tourists visiting Times Square today can expect to have pretty much the same experience that I had 14 years ago: immersing into the excess and exuberance of flagship stores, staring at costumed characters, taking loads of photos and watching a show. Timelessness is the hallmark of Times Square. New Yorkers might despise it as the center of tourists, but it has been one of 6 the most popular, endearing landmarks in the world. As we share snippets of our experience over social media instantaneously evoking memories transcending time, we often don’t realize that what we experience might be the same, but how we experience Times Square has changed dramatically over time. Back in 2006, it was a year before the first iPhone was launched. Google Maps did not exist and I highly doubt my LG Chocolate phone I brought from Korea had a map of New York City. How did we locate and find our way to Times Square? Uber or Citi Bike, or the concept of sharing transportation with strangers, did not exist then. Given how I found New York City Subway more confusing than disgusting yet, I am pretty sure we hailed a Yellow Cab. It is possible that I took couple of photos with my “smartphone” using 1 megapixel camera on a 240-by-320 pixel display, but I highly doubt the images traveled outside my device anytime soon after. Today, it is unimaginable living a day without all the highly personalized and accessible services that enable what we do to be so much more convenient. In the summer of 2019, I lived in New York City for the first time and worked at New York City Economic Development Corporation. Walking down the streets of New York City everyday and working at an organization that is the designer of the city’s prosperous and to some extent equitable future allowed me to cultivate a deeper understanding of the changes technology is bringing to our lives beyond my personal level. At the same time, I realized there are social costs to the services that are often hard to justify as a society and an individual. I did regret ordering anything and everything from Amazon anytime I desired and with the fastest shipping available. I am sure the convenience I mindlessly enjoyed added to the larger problems of waste, air pollution and traffic – also, to my Uber travel times. Knowing the negative externalities, will I stop using Amazon and Uber? Perhaps not, or not yet. One might ask, why not simply expand the physical capacity of our infrastructure to address the issues? In New York City, it took 8 years and $2.5 billion to build 7 Subway Extension that is 1.5 miles long. How about East Side Access? The 2-mile stretch of underground rail started construction in 2007, costing more than $12 billion and it might open in 2022. At this rate, I can speculate that my Amazon package will be delivered to my window via drone halfway through any capital projects city, state and federal governments push forward. Joking aside, we should consider both technological and traditional solutions to ensure that we continue to reap the 7 benefits of innovations in a sustainable way for the long-term. How do we solve the problems we are facing today if the traditional solutions for infrastructure are unavailable or unworkable? How can we use technology as medium to expand our conceptual toolbox in providing essential services? Maybe it is time to awaken our sleepy infrastructure to its full potential as technology- enabled infrastructure. 8 Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter of my thesis illustrates my thought process in defining Technology-enabled Infrastructure. Section 1.1, The Problem, takes in a current phenomenon and establishes a relationship between technology and infrastructure. Section 1.2, The Opportunity, contextualizes the problem raised in the previous section in the larger discussion around infrastructure and essential services it provides.