Welcome to my homepage. I am an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Michigan-Flint. I'm also a Faculty Affiliate at the University of Michigan Data Science Institute (MIDAS) and Fellow at the Center for Urban Design and Mental Health (UK).
My research is centered on examining accessibility, urban design, and public health outcomes using innovative geospatial science methods and empirical models. My work within these areas has been expansive, spanning approaches and methods such as; active transportation modeling; naturalistic assessments of cycling stress; Agent Based Modeling (ABM) of bicycling movement potentials; travel-mode sentiment; travel-demand modeling; intersection of crime and public health; urban infrastructure resiliency; qualitative analysis of micro-mobility use; intermodal travel potentials in a university environment; spatial modeling of food insecurity.
I also have a breadth of practical experience from my time working in private industry, government sectors, and non-profit organizations as a GIS analyst, planner, and consultant. These experiences inform my teaching and complement my research agenda.
Read more about my research on Google Scholar, ORCiD, or ResearchGate
LATEST NEWS
New publication in Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science: "Walking alone or walking together: A spatial evaluation of children’s travel behavior to school.” In collaboration with my esteemed colleagues from Turkey, we set out to understanding the geographical, personal, and parental factors affecting children's walking routes to school when with someone or not. Using PPGIS, GIS, and spatial modeing, we discovered that children’s age, gender, health (BMI) were important predictors. In terms of parents, we found that concerns about safety dominated children's route deviations. However, we surprisngly showed that attitudes concerning greenspace positively affected children’s longer route choices. Nieghborhood factors, includiong street connectivity reduced the level of route detours when walking to school. Overall, the results provide new insights on how to encourage additional walking trips to school. The full article can be found here
New publication in Urban Geography: "Skateboarder and scooter-rider perceptions of the urban environment: a qualitative analysis of user-generated content" Working with Dr. Lorne Platt from California State University - L.A., we examined how personal mobility devices (aka, scooters and skateboards) can be promoted using crowdsourced data and a robust theoretical framework. Not surprisingly, our results suggest that many riders encountered rough surfaces and difficulttransitions. The overall findings tell us that citiesneed to acknowledge this evidence and apply this toward long-term efforts set on facilitating these active mobilities in an urban setting. The author's version of the article can be found here.
Collaborative grant recently awarded to study e-bicycling in Detroit:
I've recently received funding to examine how to promote e-bicycling in the Detroit metro area. Creating sustainable and “smart” cities is promoted by planners and researchers recently as a way to increase accessibility, mobility, public health, quality-of-life, and environmental value. Widespread interest in implementing electrified micromobility modes, such as electric bicycles (e-bikes), is integral to this and may serve to solve current issues such as the “first/last mile” problem and transportation inequities. Working with partners from several universities and local bicycling organizations, we will explore important issues such as: safety, trip substitution, equity, and wayfinding success. this using two lenses: safety and enjoyment. This information will be used to comprehend the possibility of elevating this mode share to meet sustainability goals. If you're interested in finding out more, please contact me at grybar@umich.edu
CONNECT WITH ME
Affliations
Address
Find me
University of Michigan-Flint
Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment
University of Michigan, Michigan Institute of Data Sciences (MIDAS)
Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health
University of Michigan-Flint
Department of Geography, Planning and Environment
516 Murchie Science Bldg
Flint, Michigan 48502
t: 810-762-3355
