Modeling human-nature relationships via multimodal deep learning architectures

Abstract

 Our daily urban experiences are the product of perceptions and emotional states that are triggered by the physical and social contexts around us, yet a complete modeling of these aspects is strikingly absent from urban studies. Mobile devices and sensors produce digital traces at an unprecedented spatial and temporal granularity and they enable innovative forms to model human behavior, characterizing where, when, and how people interact. In addition, crowdsourced data and geo-referenced online content add the human component to the underlying technological infrastructure and they present an invaluable tool to capture the invisible image of a city.

This project will leverage online feeds and the associated metadata to build an alternative cartography weighted for positive emotions, adding a layer where citizens opinions and emotions are modeled in time and space at scale. This will enable the implementation of new forms of services, e.g., an emotions-driven routing engine that is able to suggest a environmentally friendly path over the shortest, and urban design policies that favor the human factor over a city built around efficiency, predictability, and security alone.

This activity will be carried within the framework of the H2020 that plans to position European cities as world ambassadors of urban sustainability augmenting nature based-solutions, urban design with the goal of fostering a positive human-nature relationship, flourishing nature connectedness and promoting citizen engagement through digital, educational and behavioural innovation.

General Info

This project will be carried out in the Department of Computer Science.

This PhD project is part of a call for 5 fully funded PhD scholarships in the framework of the PhD in Modeling and Data Science https://dottorato-mds.campusnet.unito.it/do/home.pl at the University of Turin (Italy). The call will open on 28 April 2022 (date TBC). The scholarship is for three years, starting in October 2022.

The PhD program is interdisciplinary, and it involves branches of mathematics, informatics, economics, statistics, and physics.

All interested candidates should submit their application online via the link https://www.phd.unito.it/do/home.pl/View?doc=Submitting_your_application.html. Deadline for applying is 30 May 2022 (date TBC). Notice that the application requires two reference letters, which should be submitted via the same link by the referees before the application deadline. The referees will be able to submit their letters only after the candidate has input all the required information and closed their (part of the) application. If the letters are not submitted by the deadline the application will not be valid.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact the supervisor. More information, including the official call and all relevant (confirmed) deadlines, can also be found here https://dottorato-mds.campusnet.unito.it/do/home.pl/View?doc=/content/Admission.html.

The call for applications is available at the page https://www.dottorato.unito.it/do/home.pl/View?doc=Bando_XXXVIII_ciclo.html. 

Admission details and the list of projects can be found here https://www.dottorato.unito.it/do/documenti.pl/ShowFile?_id=g3ot;field=file;key=JbqgKqg0lroYaYMa8BXEFYBVz1z8MXSdAKr7fGFtPR2;t=3298.