AI-Generated Mood Maps Reveal the Emotional Landscape of Urban Spaces

Researchers at the University of Missouri have trained an AI to analyze social media photographs to explore the connection between urban environments and human emotions. The resulting «emotional maps,» created using this data, could facilitate more informed urban planning, according to SciTechDaily.

Jayedi Aman, an assistant professor in the architecture department, and Professor of Geography and Engineering Tim Matishiv collaborated to investigate how urban settings influence people’s moods. They analyzed publicly available Instagram posts that included geotags and used artificial intelligence to determine the emotional tone of the photos and captions, identifying whether individuals felt happy, calm, or anxious. Subsequently, the researchers examined these locations using Google Street View and another AI tool to understand how the places actually appeared. By correlating the content of the posts with the specific locations, they discovered a connection between urban design and individuals’ emotional states.

Using the gathered data, Aman and Matishiv developed a digital «mood map» that illustrates how people feel in various parts of the city. Moving forward, the researchers aim to create a «virtual twin of the city» that will display real-time emotional responses from residents.

These maps could assist officials in identifying areas where people feel unsafe, where service quality needs improvement, or help in developing emergency response plans.

«We envision a future where insights into people’s feelings are integrated into urban information systems,» stated Aman. «This opens up new possibilities for designing cities that not only function well but also resonate with the people who live in them.»

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