Mitigating Spatial Disparity in Urban Prediction Using Residual-Aware Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks: A Chicago Case Study

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhuang, Dingyi, Xu, Hanyong, Guo, Xiaotong, Zheng, Yunhan, Wang, Shenhao, Zhao, Jinhua
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhuang, Dingyi
Xu, Hanyong
Guo, Xiaotong
Zheng, Yunhan
Wang, Shenhao
Zhao, Jinhua
author_facet Zhuang, Dingyi
Xu, Hanyong
Guo, Xiaotong
Zheng, Yunhan
Wang, Shenhao
Zhao, Jinhua
contents Urban prediction tasks, such as forecasting traffic flow, temperature, and crime rates, are crucial for efficient urban planning and management. However, existing Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks (ST-GNNs) often rely solely on accuracy, overlooking spatial and demographic disparities in their predictions. This oversight can lead to imbalanced resource allocation and exacerbate existing inequities in urban areas. This study introduces a Residual-Aware Attention (RAA) Block and an equality-enhancing loss function to address these disparities. By adapting the adjacency matrix during training and incorporating spatial disparity metrics, our approach aims to reduce local segregation of residuals and errors. We applied our methodology to urban prediction tasks in Chicago, utilizing a travel demand dataset as an example. Our model achieved a 48% significant improvement in fairness metrics with only a 9% increase in error metrics. Spatial analysis of residual distributions revealed that models with RAA Blocks produced more equitable prediction results, particularly by reducing errors clustered in central regions. Attention maps demonstrated the model's ability to dynamically adjust focus, leading to more balanced predictions. Case studies of various community areas in Chicago further illustrated the effectiveness of our approach in addressing spatial and demographic disparities, supporting more balanced and equitable urban planning and policy-making.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_11214
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mitigating Spatial Disparity in Urban Prediction Using Residual-Aware Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks: A Chicago Case Study
Zhuang, Dingyi
Xu, Hanyong
Guo, Xiaotong
Zheng, Yunhan
Wang, Shenhao
Zhao, Jinhua
Machine Learning
Urban prediction tasks, such as forecasting traffic flow, temperature, and crime rates, are crucial for efficient urban planning and management. However, existing Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks (ST-GNNs) often rely solely on accuracy, overlooking spatial and demographic disparities in their predictions. This oversight can lead to imbalanced resource allocation and exacerbate existing inequities in urban areas. This study introduces a Residual-Aware Attention (RAA) Block and an equality-enhancing loss function to address these disparities. By adapting the adjacency matrix during training and incorporating spatial disparity metrics, our approach aims to reduce local segregation of residuals and errors. We applied our methodology to urban prediction tasks in Chicago, utilizing a travel demand dataset as an example. Our model achieved a 48% significant improvement in fairness metrics with only a 9% increase in error metrics. Spatial analysis of residual distributions revealed that models with RAA Blocks produced more equitable prediction results, particularly by reducing errors clustered in central regions. Attention maps demonstrated the model's ability to dynamically adjust focus, leading to more balanced predictions. Case studies of various community areas in Chicago further illustrated the effectiveness of our approach in addressing spatial and demographic disparities, supporting more balanced and equitable urban planning and policy-making.
title Mitigating Spatial Disparity in Urban Prediction Using Residual-Aware Spatiotemporal Graph Neural Networks: A Chicago Case Study
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.11214