Strengthening Community Resiliency through Extended Reality (XR): Engaging Small, Under-Resourced Municipalities in Planning & Execution of Government

The Community Innovation and Action Center of the University of Missouri, St. Louis is partnering with Beyond Housing and the T-REX Innovation Center in a community-driven and research-informed process to collectively improve safety, resiliency, and recovery from disasters in the 24:1 community, which encompasses a coalition of 23 separate small fiscally constrained municipal governments north of St. Louis, Missouri. Working with municipal leaders and leveraging survey data and focus groups outcomes, the project will engage communities in developing, testing, and applying extended reality technologies – such as virtual reality and digital twin technologies – to effectively plan and govern with a unified approach during disasters and economic downturns. Link to abstract on nsf.gov