Welcome to the Urban Agility and Resilience Lab!

The UAR Lab serves as a dynamic hub of innovation, research, and learning, dedicated to advancing resilient, adaptive and healthy cities. As a core research engine of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER) and a major contributor to the Urban Analytics Program within the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, our interdisciplinary work lies at the cutting edge of urban resilience and urban analytics.

Dr. Yan Wang is the founder and director of the UAR lab. She is an Assistant Professor of Urban & Regional Planning and a founding faculty member of FIBER within the College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida. Dr. Wang’s research focuses on developing and applying computational tools to quantity and manage urban resilience in response to disruptions, including hazards and emerging technologies. Over the past decade, Dr. Wang’s research has made contributions to answer how resilience can be measured, explained, and enhanced within built and digital communities. Her pioneering work explores the intersection of urban resilience and urban analytics, particularly the roles of spatial planning and crisis informatics. Recognized as one of the Top-ranked female scholars in urban analytics worldwide, Dr. Wang has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers and has secured more than $3 million in research funding, including eight federal awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Prior to UF, Prof. Wang earned her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. She also holds a master’s degree in asset valuation (BJTU) and a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering and management (BJTU) from the school of economics and management. Her awards include ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering Accolade Best Paper Award (2021), Weather Ready Research Fellowships, Natural Hazard Center (2021), Mitigation Matters Award, Natural Hazard Center (2020), UF Excellence Awards for Assistant Professors (2022), UF Global Research Fellow (2018), UF Research Promotion Initiative Award (2021), UF Great Teaching Certificate (2021), DCP Excellence in Research Award (2021) and Virginia Tech IGEP BioBuild Fellowship (2015-2018). She is also the recipient of the NSF CAREER award (2025).

In addition to research, Dr. Wang is extremely dedicated to high-quality teaching and mentoring. She has taught courses spanning undergraduate to doctoral levels, making contributions to programs such as the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate, Urban Analytics Certificate/Master, and Sustainability and the Built Environment (SBE) programs, and supporting FIBER’s educational objectives. Her teaching efforts primarily contribute to tailored pedagogies and contextualized curricula for urban analytics within planning programs. She currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Management in Engineering, a top-tier ASCE flagship journal, and as a guest editor for a special issue on “Urban Planning AI” in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, a leading ACSP journal.

The UAR Lab provides a vibrant interdisciplinary environment, offering opportunities for collaboration at the forefront of urban resilience and analytics. Whether you are a student eager to explore innovative solutions for resilient cities or a researcher looking to engage in impactful collaborations, we invite you to connect and join our efforts in building a resilient, adaptive future.