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Main Authors: Eshraghi, Pegah, Dehnavi, Arman Nikkhah, Mirdamadi, Maedeh, Talami, Riccardo, Zomorodian, Zahra-Sadat
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08019
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author Eshraghi, Pegah
Dehnavi, Arman Nikkhah
Mirdamadi, Maedeh
Talami, Riccardo
Zomorodian, Zahra-Sadat
author_facet Eshraghi, Pegah
Dehnavi, Arman Nikkhah
Mirdamadi, Maedeh
Talami, Riccardo
Zomorodian, Zahra-Sadat
contents As urbanization accelerates, open spaces are increasingly recognized for their role in enhancing sustainability and well-being, yet they remain underexplored compared to built spaces. This study introduces an AI-driven framework that integrates machine learning models (MLMs) and explainable AI techniques to optimize Sky View Factor (SVF) and visibility, key spatial metrics influencing thermal comfort and perceived safety in urban spaces. Unlike global optimization methods, which are computationally intensive and impractical for localized adjustments, this framework supports incremental design improvements with lower computational costs and greater flexibility. The framework employs SHapley Adaptive Explanations (SHAP) to analyze feature importance and Counterfactual Explanations (CFXs) to propose minimal design changes. Simulations tested five MLMs, identifying XGBoost as the most accurate, with building width, park area, and heights of surrounding buildings as critical for SVF, and distances from southern buildings as key for visibility. Compared to Genetic Algorithms, which required approximately 15/30 minutes across 3/4 generations to converge, the tested CFX approach achieved optimized results in 1 minute with a 5% RMSE error, demonstrating significantly faster performance and suitability for scalable retrofitting strategies. This interpretable and computationally efficient framework advances urban performance optimization, providing data-driven insights and practical retrofitting solutions for enhancing usability and environmental quality across diverse urban contexts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08019
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An AI-driven framework for rapid and localized optimizations of urban open spaces
Eshraghi, Pegah
Dehnavi, Arman Nikkhah
Mirdamadi, Maedeh
Talami, Riccardo
Zomorodian, Zahra-Sadat
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
As urbanization accelerates, open spaces are increasingly recognized for their role in enhancing sustainability and well-being, yet they remain underexplored compared to built spaces. This study introduces an AI-driven framework that integrates machine learning models (MLMs) and explainable AI techniques to optimize Sky View Factor (SVF) and visibility, key spatial metrics influencing thermal comfort and perceived safety in urban spaces. Unlike global optimization methods, which are computationally intensive and impractical for localized adjustments, this framework supports incremental design improvements with lower computational costs and greater flexibility. The framework employs SHapley Adaptive Explanations (SHAP) to analyze feature importance and Counterfactual Explanations (CFXs) to propose minimal design changes. Simulations tested five MLMs, identifying XGBoost as the most accurate, with building width, park area, and heights of surrounding buildings as critical for SVF, and distances from southern buildings as key for visibility. Compared to Genetic Algorithms, which required approximately 15/30 minutes across 3/4 generations to converge, the tested CFX approach achieved optimized results in 1 minute with a 5% RMSE error, demonstrating significantly faster performance and suitability for scalable retrofitting strategies. This interpretable and computationally efficient framework advances urban performance optimization, providing data-driven insights and practical retrofitting solutions for enhancing usability and environmental quality across diverse urban contexts.
title An AI-driven framework for rapid and localized optimizations of urban open spaces
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08019