The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced a $685,000 investment in ISeeChange, an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled platform, to collect data on flooding, heat, pollution in Miami as well as potential local solutions. 

Part of the foundation’s Smart Cities program, the grant is aimed at developing enhanced climate mitigation strategies and boosting accessibility of services to local governments and partners. ISeeChange uses an AI-enabled model to cross-reference community-reported events in real time. With Knight’s commitment, the platform will expand across Miami-Dade County, enabling residents to share data on the impacts of flooding and rising temperatures. ISeeChange will also create partnerships across government, academic and nonprofit organizations to work directly with residents on climate solution strategies. The platform will focus on applying data collection in communities that are often underserved.

“Among all of the cities we work with, the citizens of Miami are passionate partners when it comes to protecting their neighborhoods, and ISeeChange is a bridge between these citizens and their local municipal agencies,” said ISeeChange founder and CEO Julia Kumari Drapkin. “Knight’s investment is critical because it allows us to work more closely together with Miamians to develop innovative strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change locally and ensure all solutions are informed by the people who are most negatively impacted.” 

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