Seung Jun Choi, PhD, AICP
Seung Jun Choi, PhD, AICP
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Welcome! I'm an Assistant Professor in Geography, Planning, and Recreation within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University.
My research focuses on urban informatics, urban AI, urban system, and smart transportation. I take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates planning, engineering, computer science, information, and public policy. As a planner, I aim to leverage urban technology to tackle emerging urban challenges.
I earned both my Master’s and Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning from The University of Texas at Austin. I was the first in the program’s history to complete the PhD within three years.
I'm a certified planner in both the U.S. (AICP) and South Korea .
Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, May 2025
MSc. in Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, May 2022
Contact
Seung-Jun.Choi@nau.edu
Selected Awards
2025: UT School of Architecture’s Outstanding Dissertation in Community and Regional Planning
2024: Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Austin Chapter Scholarship
2022: National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship in Ethical AI
2018: Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Commendation from S. Korea
Grants
Exploring AI Technology For Transportation Data Applications, Funded by Arizona Transportation Institute (AzTI)
Data Visualization Tools for Travel Demand Modeling Notable Practices, Funded by Arizona Transportation Institution (AzTI)
Charging Forward: Crafting an Inclusive SMART Roadmap for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Navajo Nation, AZ, Funded by Center for Climate-Smart Transportation
Toward Equitable Transportation Electrification in Austin, TX, Funded by Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin
Analysis of Heatwave and Particulate Matter Exposure Risk in Seoul: Combining Real-time De Facto Population Data, Funded by Seoul Institute
PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
Peer-reviewed Article
*Primary/Corresponding Author
Choi, S. J., Xu, Y.*, & Jiao, J. (2025). Utility or Equity? A Critical Analysis of Existing Public Electric Vehicle Charger Allocations in Austin, Texas. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2025.104994
Jiao, J., & Choi, S. J.* (2025). Built Environment and Public Electric Vehicle Charging: An Investigation Using POI Data and Computer Vision. Public Transport. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-024-00383-6
Choi, S. J.*, Jiao, J., & Mendez, T. (2024). Who owns Electric Vehicles (EVs)? The relationship between EV adoption and socio-demographic characteristics across different price segments and brands in the Texas Triangle. Research in Transportation Business and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2024.101225
Jiao, J., Choi S. J.*, & Nguyen, C. (2024). Toward an Equitable Transportation Electrification Plan: Measuring Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station Access Disparities in Austin, TX. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309302
(cs) Choi, S. J.*, & Jiao, J. (2024). Uncovering Electric Vehicle Ownership Disparities Using K-means Clustering Analysis: A Case Study of Austin, Texas. Journal of Computational Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-024-00310-6
Choi, S. J.*, Jiao, J., & Karner, A. (2024) Tracing the Effects of COVID-19 on Short and Long Bike-sharing Trips using Machine Learning. Travel Behaviour & Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2024.100738
Choi, S. J.,* & Jiao, J. (2024). Measurement of Regional Electric Vehicle Adoption Using Multiagent Deep Reinforcement Learning. Applied Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14051826
Choi, S. J.,* & Jiao, J. (2024). Developing a Transit Desert Interactive Dashboard: Supervised Modeling for Forecasting Transit Deserts. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306782
Seong, K., Choi, S. J.*, & Jiao, J. (2024). IoT Sensors as a Tool for Assessing Spatiotemporal Risk to Extreme Heat. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2024.2320257
Choi, S. J., Jiao, J., Lee, H.*, & Farahi, A. (2023). Combatting the Mismatch: Modeling Bike-sharing Rental and Return Machine Learning Classification Forecast in Seoul, South Korea. Journal of Transport Geography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2023.103587
Jiao, J., Choi, S. J.*, Wang, H., & Farahi, A. (2023) Evaluating Air Quality Status in Chicago: Application of Street View Imagery and Urban Climate Sensors. Environmental Modeling & Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-023-09894-1
Jiao, J., Lee, H.*., & Choi, S. J. (2022). Impacts of COVID-19 on Bike-Sharing Usages in Seoul, South Korea. Cities. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.103849
(cs) Jiao, J., Choi, S. J.*, & Xu, W. (2021). Tracking Property Ownership Variance and Forecasting Housing Price with Machine Learning and Deep Learning. IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9671298
Lee, H., Choi, S. J.*, & Jiao, J. (2021). Examining the COVID-19 Effects on Travel Behavior Using Smart IoT Sensors: A Case Study of Smart City Planning in Gangnam, Seoul. International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development https://doi.org/10.22712/susb.20210029
Jiao, J., Bai, S., & Choi, S. J.* (2021). Understanding E-scooter Incidents Patterns in Street Network Perspective: A Case Study of Travis County, Texas. Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910583
Lee, H., Jiao, J.* & Choi, S. J. (2021). Identifying Spatiotemporal Transit Deserts in Seoul, South Korea. Journal of Transport Geography. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103145
Research Report
Jiao, J.*, & Choi, S. J. (2024). Examining the Impacts of Land Use on Air Quality in Chicago: Application of Street View Imagery and Hyperlocal Urban Climate Sensing. Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2) Report. https://sites.utexas.edu/cm2/files/2024/11/Year6_JiaoExamining-the-Impacts-of-Land-Use-on-Air-Quality-in-Chicago-Application-of-Street-View-Imagery-and-Hyperlocal-Urban-Climate-Sensing.pdf
Seong, K.*, & Choi, S. J. (2022). Extreme Heat and Particulate Matter Exposure and Risk Assessment in Seoul Metropolitan Region. Small Grant Research Program. The Seoul Institute. https://www.si.re.kr/node/66564
Karner, A.*, Shuster, J., Tucker, R., Banker, C., Butcher, V. Byrne, V., Chen, Y., Choi, S. J., Gay, J., Mabalatan, F., Meijia, M., Randall, P., Vargas, A., Vearil, K., & Willis, O. (2022). Austin Transit Report: Transit Rider Needs and Visions in the Texas State Capital. Community and Regional Planning, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin. https://sites.utexas.edu/karner/files/2022/10/ATX-Transit-Report-FINAL.pdf
Op-ed
Choi, S. J. (2023). Exploring beyond the Routes. The Daily Texan. https://thedailytexan.com/2023/11/10/exploring-beyond-the-routes/
PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS
2026
2026 AAG Annual Meeting
TRB 2026 Annual Meeting
2025
ACSP 2025 Conference
Global Exchange Session on AI, Data Science, and Smart Cities with Hiroshima University, Japan
UT Good Systems Symposium
Invest and Trade Western Australia Delegation
TRB 2025 Annual Meeting
2024
ACSP 2024 Annual Conference
Smart Mobility & AI Symposium
UT Energy Week 2024
2023
ACSP 2023 Annual Conference
City of Austin - UT Ausitn Partnership Showcase
Smart Cities and Generative AI Symposium
UT Energy Week 2023
TRB 2023 Annual Meeting
2022
ACSP 2022 Annual Conference
SBE 2022 Seoul Conference
2021
IEEE BigData 2021 International Conference
ACSP 2021 Annual Conference
TEACHING
TEACHING
Fall 2025
Instructor, Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation, Northern Arizona University, GSP 130 Mapping the World
Fall 2022, 2023, 2024
Head Teaching Assistant, Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin, CS395T Case Studies in Machine Learning
Spring – Summer, 2024
Teaching Assistant, President’s Award for Global Learning 2024 Faculty Program, The University of Texas at Austin, LA 329 Global Learning Seminar-Japan
Spring 2023, 2025
Teaching Assistant, School of Undergraduate Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, UGS302 Ethical AI: Good Systems
Fall 2021 – Spring 2022
Course Development, Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin, CS395T Case Studies in Machine Learning
Prof. Bjorn's Potluck
Visit to Nagoya University
With Terrific Students!
Ongoing Research: Towards AI Governance
AI-in-the-Loop Planning for Transportation Electrification: Case Studies from Austin, Texas
Seung Jun Choi; 2025
This study provides guidance for augmenting electrification planning and focuses on developing methods to automate site suitability analysis using GenAI applications.
Unveiling the Secret: Investigating Data Center Site Planning at Major ICT Companies in the U.S.
Seung Jun Choi, Kijin Seong, Junfeng Jiao; 2025
This study investigates data center site planning practices in the U.S. to inform sustainable AI adoption and offers guidance for integrating physical AI planning into future infrastructure decisions.
Where Do We Go Next? Defining Virtual Planners and Their Responsibilities
Seung Jun Choi; 2025
This study examines the development of an agentic AI system by conceptualizing a virtual planner and implementing it through a RAG-LLM framework supported by NLP techniques.
Other sponsored projects include a virtual AV survey, AI governance and visualization tool development for ADOT, and infrastructure resilience preparedness.
Research: Featured Publications
My research emphasizes visual communication to transparently communicate with communities.
Utility or Equity? Analyzing Public Electric Vehicle Charger Allocations in Austin, Texas, Transportation Research Part D
Seung Jun Choi, Yiming Xu, Junfeng Jiao; 2025
Different equity frameworks produce different interpretations, showing that relying on a single method can misrepresent inequities; instead, integrating accessibility measures with both inequality and sufficiency perspectives provides a more nuanced and comprehensive assessment of charging equity.
Developing a transit desert interactive dashboard: Supervised modeling for forecasting transit deserts, PLOS ONE
Seung Jun Choi, Junfeng Jiao; 2024
This study develops a machine learning-based dashboard to forecast transit deserts in Seoul. By analyzing transit demand and supply factors, disaggregated by gender, the model identifies equity gaps and suggests tailored interventions. The dashboard integrates AI tools to support community-informed, participatory transit planning.
Path Towards Urban AI
Path Towards Urban AI
My research focuses on optimizing the city platform.
We should acquire new users.
We should activate new patterns.
We should secure a retention rate.
Community and human-centered tools should be developed.
Impacts of COVID-19 on bike-sharing usages in Seoul, South Korea, Cities
Junfeng Jiao, Hye Kyung Lee, Seung Jun Choi; 2022
This study analyzes how COVID-19 affected bike-sharing in Seoul using real-time telecommunication and urban data. It finds that warmer weather, green spaces, and floating populations increased bike usage, while COVID-19 positively impacted both trip count and duration, suggesting bike-sharing as a resilient urban mobility option during pandemics.
Who owns Electric Vehicles (EVs)? The relationship between EV adoption and socio-demographic characteristics across different price segments and brands in the Texas triangle, Research in Transportation Business and Management
Seung Jun Choi, Junfeng Jiao, Tigris Mendez; 2024
This study analyzes EV adoption patterns in Texas by price tier and brand, using spatial and clustering analyses. Results show EV ownership is concentrated among affluent, White communities, particularly for Tesla. Disparities in charger availability and adoption persist, underscoring the need for equitable policy interventions targeting disadvantaged populations.
Evaluating Air Quality Status in Chicago: Application of Street View Imagery and Urban Climate Sensors, Environmental Modeling & Assessment
Junfeng Jiao, Seung Jun Choi, Huihai Wang, Arya Farahi; 2023
This study evaluates air quality in Chicago using Microsoft's Project Eclipse sensors and Google Street View imagery. By combining street-level visual data and machine learning, it identifies land use factors impacting air quality and reveals hyperlocal pollution disparities, highlighting the need for sensor-informed, community-centered urban planning interventions.
Combatting the mismatch: Modeling bike-sharing rental and return machine learning classification forecast in Seoul, South Korea, Journal of Transport Geography
Seung Jun Choi, Junfeng Jiao, Hye Kyung Lee, Arya Farahi; 2023
This study models bike-sharing rental and return mismatches in Seoul using tree-based machine learning and landscape metrics. By analyzing spatiotemporal gaps, climate, land use, and urban form, it identifies factors driving imbalances and proposes data-driven strategies to improve bike rebalancing and station planning.
My research redefines Urban AI and provides guidance on how to embed community values into urban systems through data audits that help identify and situate those values.
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