Soft Biometric Analysis: MultiPerson and RealTime Pedestrian Attribute Recognition in Crowded Urban Environments

Traditionally, recognition systems were only based on human hard biometrics. However, the ubiquitous CCTV cameras have raised the desire to analyze human biometrics from far distances, without people attendance in the acquisition process. Highresolution face closeshots are rarely available at far distances such that facebased systems cannot provide reliable results in surveillance applications. Human soft biometrics such as body and clothing attributes are believed to be more effective in analyzing human data collected by security cameras. This thesis contributes to the human soft biometric analysis in uncontrolled environments and mainly focuses on two tasks: Pedestrian Attribute Recognition (PAR) and person reidentification (reid). We first review the literature of both tasks and highlight the history of advancements, recent developments, and the existing benchmarks. PAR and person reid difficulties are due to significant distances between intraclass samples, which originate from variations in several factors such as body pose, illumination, background, occlusion, and data resolution. Recent stateoftheart approaches present endtoend models that can extract discriminative and comprehensive feature representations from people. The correlation between different regions of the body and dealing with limited learning data is also the objective of many recent works. Moreover, class imbalance and correlation between human attributes are specific challenges associated with the PAR problem. We collect a large surveillance dataset to train a novel gender recognition model suitable for uncontrolled environments. We propose a deep residual network that extracts several posewise patches from samples and obtains a comprehensive feature representation. In the next step, we develop a model for multiple attribute recognition at once. Considering the correlation between human semantic attributes and class imbalance, we respectively use a multitask model and a weighted loss function. We also propose a multiplication layer on top of the backbone features extraction layers to exclude the background features from the final representation of samples and draw the attention of the model to the foreground area. We address the problem of person reid by implicitly defining the receptive fields of deep learning classification frameworks. The receptive fields of deep learning models determine the most significant regions of the input data for providing correct decisions. Therefore, we synthesize a set of learning data in which the destructive regions (e.g., background) in each pair of instances are interchanged. A segmentation module determines destructive and useful regions in each sample, and the label of synthesized instances are inherited from the sample that shared the useful regions in the synthesized image. The synthesized learning data are then used in the learning phase and help the model rapidly learn that the identity and background regions are not correlated. Meanwhile, the proposed solution could be seen as a data augmentation approach that fully preserves the label information and is compatible with other data augmentation techniques. When reid methods are learned in scenarios where the target person appears with identical garments in the gallery, the visual appearance of clothes is given the most importance in the final feature representation. Clothbased representations are not reliable in the longterm reid settings as people may change their clothes. Therefore, developing solutions that ignore clothing cues and focus on identityrelevant features are in demand. We transform the original data such that the identityrelevant information of people (e.g., face and body shape) are removed, while the identityunrelated cues (i.e., color and texture of clothes) remain unchanged. A learned model on the synthesized dataset predicts the identityunrelated cues (shortterm features). Therefore, we train a second model coupled with the first model and learns the embeddings of the original data such that the similarity between the embeddings of the original and synthesized data is minimized. This way, the second model predicts based on the identityrelated (longterm) representation of people. To evaluate the performance of the proposed models, we use PAR and person reid datasets, namely BIODI, PETA, RAP, Market1501, MSMTV2, PRCC, LTCC, and MIT and compared our experimental results with stateoftheart methods in the field. In conclusion, the data collected from surveillance cameras have low resolution, such that the extraction of hard biometric features is not possible, and facebased approaches produce poor results. In contrast, soft biometrics are robust to variations in data quality. So, we propose approaches both for PAR and person reid to learn discriminative features from each instance and evaluate our proposed solutions on several publicly available benchmarks.This thesis was prepared at the University of Beria Interior, IT Instituto de Telecomunicações, Soft Computing and Image Analysis Laboratory (SOCIA Lab), Covilhã Delegation, and was submitted to the University of Beira Interior for defense in a public examination session

NuScenes-QA: A Multi-modal Visual Question Answering Benchmark for Autonomous Driving Scenario

We introduce a novel visual question answering (VQA) task in the context of autonomous driving, aiming to answer natural language questions based on street-view clues. Compared to traditional VQA tasks, VQA in autonomous driving scenario presents more challenges. Firstly, the raw visual data are multi-modal, including images and point clouds captured by camera and LiDAR, respectively. Secondly, the data are multi-frame due to the continuous, real-time acquisition. Thirdly, the outdoor scenes exhibit both moving foreground and static background. Existing VQA benchmarks fail to adequately address these complexities. To bridge this gap, we propose NuScenes-QA, the first benchmark for VQA in the autonomous driving scenario, encompassing 34K visual scenes and 460K question-answer pairs. Specifically, we leverage existing 3D detection annotations to generate scene graphs and design question templates manually. Subsequently, the question-answer pairs are generated programmatically based on these templates. Comprehensive statistics prove that our NuScenes-QA is a balanced large-scale benchmark with diverse question formats. Built upon it, we develop a series of baselines that employ advanced 3D detection and VQA techniques. Our extensive experiments highlight the challenges posed by this new task. Codes and dataset are available at https://github.com/qiantianwen/NuScenes-QA

3 D analysis methods for supporting the design of walkable streets

Tese de Doutoramento em Arquitetura com a especialização em Desenho e Computação apresentada na Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de Doutor.Os aglomerados urbanos em rápido crescimento contribuem e enfrentam hoje, as consequências de crises globais, como a poluição, as alterações climáticas, a diminuição dos recursos naturais, conflitos sociais e migrações em massa. O planeamento e projecto do ambiente construído são essenciais para uma correcta organização da vida urbana, de modo a reduzir a poluição, distribuir recursos de maneira justa, fortalecer laços sociais e comunitários e prosperar economicamente. Projectar cidades incentivando a pedestrianização como meio de transporte constitui uma contribuição para esses objectivos, facilitando a mitigação da poluição, o acesso livre e democrático aos recursos urbanos, revitalizando as ruas e consequentemente apoiando as economias locais. Embora a investigação sobre a pedestrianização e caminhabilidade do ambiente construído já tenha décadas, temos hoje dados urbanos atualizados e ferramentas mais precisas do que nunca, que permitem uma análise detalhada dos factores que promovem a pedestrianização, podendo suportar decisões baseadas em evidências para o desenvolvimento de uma mobilidade mais sustentável. Tais ferramentas de planeamento viabilizam também uma melhor integração destes dados nos processos de projecto bem como a sua comunicação aos vários agentes participantes na decisão. Esta dissertação defende a necessidade de um método de análise 3D à escala da rua para informar soluções flexíveis de projecto urbano baseadas em dados urbanos rapidamente actualizáveis e acessíveis remotamente, obtidos sem a necessidade de pesquisas no local. Este método preenche uma lacuna existente na literatura propondo um fluxo de trabalho semi-automático. Este fluxo de trabalho propõe-se solucionar a desconexão entre a investigação no campo da pedestrianização, as ferramentas existentes e os processos de planeamento e projecto urbano. Argumenta-se que essa desconexão resulta da priorização de preocupações financeiras nos processos de planeamento e desenho urbano e da falta de métodos de avaliação rápidos e práticos aplicáveis nas várias etapas e escalas de projecto e de um modo fragmentado ou holístico. Além disso, os métodos existentes de avaliação da caminhabilidade que avaliam contextos urbanos nestas escalas e detalhe, não são capazes de avaliar ruas através de dados urbanos acedidos remotamente, recorrendo geralmente a auditorias ou pesquisas onerosas e morosas no local. O fluxo de trabalho proposto neste estudo visa responder a esta necessidade; combina um modelo 3D de uma unidade de vizinhança desenvolvido num ambiente de programação visual, SIG e códigos personalizados, e utiliza um modelo de análise morfológica chamado Convex e Solid-Void, combinado com técnicas de Web-scrapping e reconhecimento de imagem. A dissertação contribui para a investigação sobre caminhabilidade, propondo um fluxo de trabalho de análise de caminhabilidade em escala micro, em 3D, e remotamente aplicável, além de distinguir indicadores aplicáveis a ruas com diferentes formas e usos. O método promove o modelo computacional de análise urbana, Convex e Solid-Void, apresentando a sua primeira aplicação ao problema urbano da caminhabilidade. Também demonstra a integração de fontes de dados acessíveis remotamente, incluindo imagens de Street View obtidas de uma plataforma de mapas on-line e dados de redes sociais geo-localizados, para a avaliação quantitativa dos espaços urbanos. De futuro, pretende-se desenvolver o método para permitir o acesso remoto da avaliação a várias dessas fontes de dados. Tal é possível pelo uso combinado de SIG com representações espaciais 3D e ferramentas de programação integradas no mesmo fluxo de trabalho. Estes ambientes, que facilitam a associação de elementos espaciais com informações semânticas por meio de bases de dados, possibilitam a utilização de quaisquer dados que possam ser processados em análise espacial para alimentação de processos de projecto gerativo. O resultado desta pesquisa apresenta-se na forma de recomendações de planeamento e desenho urbano e também pretende ser um recurso prático a ser usado em projectos de reabilitação urbana. Como parte do modelo Convex e Solid-Void usado neste estudo, apresenta-se uma nova unidade espacial 3D "Street-Void", na qual todos os dados coletados são agregados para análise. Identificam-se indicadores específicos para avaliar com mais precisão os espaços das ruas, primeiro distinguindo entre ruas e praças e depois avaliando quantitativamente espaços semelhantes a ruas e espaços semelhantes a praças, e ainda espaços residenciais e de uso misto. Com base nos resultados da aplicação do método a quatro bairros estudados nas cidades de Istambul e Lisboa, e uma classificação das ruas usando os indicadores identificados, apresenta-se um conjunto de recomendações, que se atribuem a intervalos de valores próprios das tipologias específicas de ruas. Estas recomendações são formuladas para que possam ser aplicadas holisticamente ou de maneira fragmentada em diferentes fases de projecto ou cenários de melhoria urbana. Este estudo amplia o conhecimento sobre pedestrianização, sugerindo diferentes indicadores e faixas de valor para a avaliação de ruas, relacionando caminhabilidade com a variação das suas formas e usos. A tese está organizada da seguinte forma. No capítulo de introdução, são apresentados brevemente os objetivos da pesquisa, a contribuição e importância para o tema, metodologia, resultados e conclusão. No segundo capítulo, são apresentadas as questões de investigação a que a tese responde e a hipótese construída sobre essas questões. Estas questões podem ser listadas da seguinte maneira. Como podem a caminhabilidade e seus critérios serem integrados nos processos de desenho urbano (à escala do bairro)? Quais as qualidades do ambiente urbano construído que devem ser consideradas para a avaliação da caminhabilidade, para que as decisões de projecto possam ser informadas com mais eficácia? Como podemos avaliar a pedestrianização de um bairro num ambiente urbano complexo e em constante mudança? O terceiro capítulo apresenta uma revisão da literatura no tema da pesquisa, incluindo os temas do projecto urbano centrados no ser humano, investigação existente sobre a medição da caminhabilidade e sobre ferramentas de projecto algorítmico desenvolvidas para a escala urbana e em particular para a escala do bairro. No quarto capítulo, são explicados o método do estudo realizado e os princípios do fluxo de trabalho acima apresentados. Discute-se o processo de selecção utilizado para determinar os atributos quantitativos para a medição da caminhabilidade. As “características” sob as quais esses atributos são agrupados são a densidade, diversidade, conectividade, escala humana, complexidade, clausura (enclosure), forma, inclinação, permeabilidade e infraestrutura. Estas características e atributos são reduzidos posteriormente através de um processo de eliminação aos seus componentes principais. O quinto capítulo apresenta os estudos de caso dos bairros que são utilizados no desenvolvimento do fluxo de trabalho de medição, a interpretação dos atributos de caminhabilidade face aos dados medidos e uma análise inicial desses dados quantitativos. No sexto capítulo, o uso de dados de redes sociais e imagens street view como representantes de caminhabilidade são testados por métodos estatísticos e os espaços das ruas analisados são classificados com base nos atributos medidos (através de um método de clustering). Tipologias de rua com atributos específicos são identificadas nas várias classes (clusters) obtidas. Os atributos são avaliados com base na comparação de seus resultados quantitativos para cada tipologia de rua e são reduzidos através de um processo de filtragem. O sétimo capítulo inclui uma reclassificação das ruas com base em suas formas e usos e uma avaliação das medidas dos seus atributos com base na comparação dos seus resultados para essas classes. Através dessa avaliação, diferentes intervalos de valores foram determinados para serem aplicados aos diferentes atributos das ruas, e as descobertas obtidas por este método foram convertidas num guia destinado a informar os processos de desenho e planeamento urbano. O oitavo capítulo resume a produção geral da tese, a sua contribuição para o conhecimento, bem como para os processos de projecto e planeamento urbano. Partindo dos seus aspectos inovadores, fornece também uma visão geral dos estudos futuros que a tese pode proporcionar. No presente desenvolvimento, o método proposto nesta tese para a medição da caminhabilidade e respectivas recomendações para os processos de projecto e planeamento podem ser utilizadas como parte de serviços de consultoria a ser prestados a municípios, consultoria particular e a profissionais de projecto e planeamento. Em estudos futuros, pretende-se tornar o fluxo de trabalho apresentado numa ferramenta que pode ser utilizada diretamente por projectistas e planeadores. Prevê-se que tais estudos sejam desenvolvidos através da multiplicação dos contextos estudados, melhorando a qualidade e a precisão dos dados urbanos utilizados, aumentando o nível de detalhe capturado pelo modelo de análise e aplicando a análise a fenómenos urbanos que não sejam somente a caminhabilidade. Devido às semelhanças dos seus ambientes construídos, os bairros utilizados no presente estudo, que são Kadikoy e Hasanpasa em Istambul e Chiado e Ajuda em Lisboa, permitiram a avaliação de um conjunto consistente de ruas, oferecendo variedade suficiente. Mais especificamente, devido às semelhanças em termos de escala e uso, quando os espaços das ruas desses bairros foram classificados com base nos atributos utilizados, revelaram-se 6 tipologias diferentes de espaços de rua. Prevê-se que essas tipologias sejam multiplicadas pela aplicação do método a contextos diferentes em termos de escala, forma e uso. Devido à disponibilidade de dados detalhados e a uma variedade de espaços nas ruas em termos dos critérios mencionados, Nova York, Singapura e Amsterdão são exemplos de cidades que poderão ser estudadas como novos casos de estudo.ABSTRACT: Today, rapidly growing urban populations both contribute to global crises such as pollution, climate change, diminishing natural resources, social conflicts and mass migrations and face the consequences. The built environment, its planning and design are critical in organizing urban life so that we pollute less, distribute our resources fairly, strengthen social and communal ties and thrive economically. Designing our cities to support walking as a means of transport contributes in these goals through facilitating pollution free and democratic access to urban resources, supporting local economies and enlivening the street. While research on walkability of the built environment is decades old now, we have more up-to-date, accurate and large-scale urban data than ever and our developing tools make it possible to feed this data into design and management processes to create and sustain more walkable environments. This dissertation argues for the necessity of a street-scale, 3d analysis method to inform flexible urban design solutions based on rapidly updatable and remotely accessible urban data obtained without the necessity of on-site surveys, proposing a semi-automated workflow to fill this gap in existing literature. The workflow combines a 3d neighborhood model in a visual programming environment, GIS and custom codes, utilizing a morphological analysis model named Convex and Solid-Voids, together with web scraping and image recognition techniques. A 3d street space unit “Street-Void” is presented within the Convex and Solid-Void model in which all gathered data is aggregated for analysis. Specific indicators are identified to more accurately assess street spaces, first by distinguishing between and then quantitatively evaluating street-like and square-like, residential and mixed-use streets. Based on the findings from the application of the workflow to four neighborhoods studied in the cities of Istanbul and Lisbon and a classification of street spaces using the proposed attributes, a set of recommendations are presented, with value ranges applicable to specific street typologies. These recommendations are formulated so that they can be applied holistically or in a fragmented way at different stages of planning and urban improvement scenarios with their projected impact grouped under direct/physical or indirect/perceptual. The dissertation contributes to walkability research by proposing a micro-scale, 3d and remotely applicable walkability analysis workflow as well as distinguishing between indicators to be applied to street spaces of different shapes and uses. It furthers the computational urban analysis model Convex and Solid-Voids by presenting its first-time application to the tangible urban problem of walkability. It also demonstrates the integration of remotely accessible data sources including street view images from an online map platform and location based social network data to the quantitative evaluation of urban street spaces. With urban planning and design recommendations, it demonstrates the practical application of the findings to urban improvement scenarios. The study is envisioned to be developed by future work through multiplying the contexts that are studied, improving the quality and accuracy of urban data utilized, increasing the level of detail captured by the morphological analysis model and applying the analysis to other urban phenomena other than walkability.N/

Governing multi-actor decision processes in Dutch industrial area redevelopment

In the first part of the thesis, a literature review is presented. In this literature review, industrial areas in the Netherlands are discussed, leading to the conclusion that industrial areas are important for realizing sustainable economic growth in the Netherlands. Industrial areas play an important role in accommodating employment, in stimulating local and regional economies, and in creating a high value added. Furthermore, I conclude that process features have a significant influence on the outcome of industrial area (re)development projects. Subsequently, the most important problem aspects of the current industrial area planning approach are discussed, together with several causes of these problems. It is argued that most of these problematic failures can be traced back to one main problem: the rapid obsolescence of the existing stock of industrial areas. The dimensions of the Dutch industrial area redevelopment task affirm this. This creates a large necessity for redevelopment. However, based upon the disappointing figures on yearly realized redevelopment projects and on the low spatial yields of actually realized redevelopment projects, it is concluded that the execution of industrial area redevelopment projects stagnates. When starting up a redevelopment project in the current increasingly complex and rapidly changing environment, interdependent negotiation processes within and among organizations appear to be problematic, consuming substantial time and effort. Focus within this research lies therefore on studying, supporting and accommodating the consensus-building process within redevelopment projects. The point of departure in this research is the postulate that the main cause of the occurring stagnation in industrial area redevelopment is the absence of a well-functioning process governance system. Several authors support this statement; they posit that the regional arena is the appropriate level for executing such governance. Because of a lack of insight into effective ways to implement a governance system, and because of the presumed advantages related to the acceleration of industrial area redevelopment processes when gaining this insight, the general research objective is as follows: ‘To explore ways to effectively support the governance of involved stakeholders’ choice behavior, in order to stimulate the current decision-making processes in industrial area redevelopment projects’. Thus, governance – and especially meta-governance – is a promising approach for application to complex industrial area redevelopment projects. Several best-practice industrial area redevelopment projects reveal that centrally governing such alliances contributes to project success. The aim of meta-governance within industrial area redevelopment projects is to establish cooperation between relevant parties, in order to realize a number of functions and purposes from a public, social importance, through the establishment of one central governing agency, responsible for the management of the decision-making process. In Dutch industrial area redevelopment, regional development companies seem most appropriate for executing this central governance role. Assuming that meta-governance can be a solution to the occurring problems in the Dutch industrial area redevelopment market, it is essential to analyze the consensusfinding processes, as well as causes of tension and conflict, in order to theoretically support governing agencies in managing decision-making processes. Therefore, the specific goal of the research is to better understand how individual and interactive decision-making of the most important actors in industrial area redevelopment processes can be modeled, in order to analyze and predict the occurrence of cooperation or conflict, and how this decision-making can be influenced by a regional governing agency. A better understanding of these processes is a key requirement for the development of a decision support tool for this regional governing agency, in order to support the acceleration of industrial area redevelopment projects. A formal model of the collaborative decision process has not been developed for this domain, incorporating a governance approach. Therefore, several available techniques for analyzing both individual and interactive decision-making are explored in the second part of the thesis. From this, it is concluded that the discrete choice approach seems applicable for modeling individual choice behavior of actors. Furthermore, the application of game theory seems very interesting for modeling interactive and interdependent choice behavior. In order to make a game-theoretic model that is suitable for studying strategic interactions in industrial area redevelopment, a relatively new approach is advocated in which game theory is combined with a multiattribute trade-off technique. Eventually, the application of game theory leads to an insight in the occurrence of conflicts, and in the causes of these conflicts. The 2x2 game is regarded as most appropriate for application in this research because this game type has been used very often in conflict modeling and conflict management, and it suits the real world negotiation processes in which two players are involved, each roughly having two strategies. Within 2x2 games, three tools are most utilizable for solving conflicts: (1) changing the information of the involved players; (2) changing the payoffs of the players; and (3) changing the rules of the game, focusing on the sequence of decisionmaking and the possible allowance of communication in the game. Because the research focuses on static 2x2 games of complete information, it is concluded that gaining insight in the second tool is most feasible and interesting. In the third part, the results are represented. Firstly, the individual choice behavior of involved actors is modeled, thereby giving a better and more systematical insight in stakeholders’ preferences when accepting or rejecting a development plan, in the (dis)similarities between both stakeholder groups’ preferences in making that choice, and in the most important points of interest when composing a development plan proposal. Resulting data analysis showed that the plan attributes ‘technical quality’ and ‘cost coverage’ are important for both stakeholder groups when choosing a plan proposal. A high level of these attributes in a plan results in a high probability of being chosen, while a low level results in a low choice probability. Besides this, companies find the attribute ‘development speed’ very important when choosing a plan, and municipalities value ‘architectural quality’ highly. Furthermore, municipalities proved to be less demanding in accepting industrial area redevelopment plan proposals. Secondly, the interaction between involved stakeholders is modeled as an interdependent process, using a relative novel approach in which conjoint analysis and game theory are combined, in order to explain the occurrence of cooperation or conflict within Dutch industrial areas redevelopment negotiations. Data analysis reveals that there is one major source of conflicts; stakeholders choosing not to cooperate based upon the presented negotiation setting. A more in-depth analysis of negotiation settings ending up in mutual cooperation demonstrated that the appraisal of both stakeholders for the proposed development plan is the most influential factor, together with an eventual absolute difference between both players’ appraisals. This leads to the conclusion that the content of proposed plans is very important in such negotiations; factors like power and risks play a secondary role. Thirdly, a model is created that supports the decision-making of a central governing agency. This model is based upon the results of the individual and interactive choice models, giving recommendations on how to put meta-governance into practice in industrial area redevelopment. The model consists of three major steps: (1) giving assistance in assessing the initial state of the negotiation; (2) calculating whether the possible conflict occurrence can be prevented by marginally changing the payoffs of both players; and (3) indicating how the equalizing of appraisals can be put into practice. This final step gives insight in the contribution of specific changes in plan proposals to solving the conflicts that are discovered in the first part. After testing the model, it is concluded that altering payoffs in games in order to avoid conflicts is very effective in these games. Furthermore, these payoffs can often be altered through the use of minimal resources. In cases in which the municipality values the proposed plan lower than the company – raising the levels of the attributes technical quality, architectural quality, and value development results most often in an equaling of both players’ appraisals. Furthermore, the attribute architectural quality functions most often as the only solution. Reciprocally, in cases in which the company has a lower plan proposal appraisal, raising the levels of the attributes development speed, technical quality, and cost coverage most often results in an equal plan proposal appraisal. In general, tools are already available for executing interventions on above-mentioned attributes. Thus, focus should be on actual execution of the governance task, not on adding tools to the existing instrumental palette. Concluding, a model is created with which it is possible to give recommendations concerning the decision-making of a central governing agency in different possible industrial area redevelopment negotiations. It entails a new, structured way of solving conflicts, which is empirically testable, and delivers some real world recommendations

Greener Golf: An Ecological, Behavioral, and Communal Study of the University of Michigan Golf Courses

As one of the leading public universities in the world, the University of Michigan, owns two 18-hole golf courses: Radrick Farms Golf Course (RFGC) and the University of Michigan Golf Course, also known as the Blue Course. The land on which RFGC is situated has a long and diverse history. Over 18,000 years ago, the area was covered by the Wisconsin glacier, the recession of which left a unique till mix and geological features, including Fleming Creek and deposits of sand and gravel. The presence of these resources led to the transformation of the landscape into a gravel mine, which functioned through the 1920s. In the early 1930s, University of Michigan alumnus Fredrick C. Matthaei, Sr., purchased the land from Cadillac Sand and Gravel, along with additional acreage surrounding the mine, and began the process of restoring the gravel pit by re-grading the area, planting alfalfa and red clover, and converting portions of the area to farmland. Following its donation to the University in 1957, the land was converted into a championship 18-hole golf course designed by world-renowned golf course architect Pete Dye. From its beginning, environmental considerations have been a priority at the RFGC. In 2001, the management of RFGC committed to the Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (MTESP), initiating a series of strong sustainability objectives. Since 2001, RFGC has received special recognition from the Washtenaw County Pollution Prevention Program, in addition to becoming “one of only four courses in the state [of Michigan] with both MTESP and Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certifications.”1 Radrick Farms Golf Course is also the only club in the state to become a Groundwater Guardian Green Site; in 2012, Washtenaw County presented RFGC with the 2012 Washtenaw County Environmental Excellence Award for Water Quality Protection, and in 2014, RFGC was recognized by the Department of Environmental Quality of the State of Michigan as a Clean Corporate Citizen (C3), the first golf course in the state to receive this recognition. The Blue Course, is located near the iconic Michigan football stadium, south of Central Campus. Prior to becoming a golf course, the area was used for farmland. In 1929, the Blue Course was designed by Dr. Alister Mackenzie, now revered as one of the greatest golf architects. The course officially opened in the spring of 1931 and immediately drew praise as one of the finest in America. At the time of its opening, the Blue Course was only the fourth course to be located on a college campus. In the mid-1990s, a multi-million dollar renovation was completed to restore the prestige of the Blue Course to the ranks of Mackenzie's other classics. A new practice range was added to assist Michigan's golf squads, as well as a number of practice greens and bunkers. The popularity of golf carts necessitated large stretches of cart paths that partition landscaped medians around the course. The unique combination of such a highly regarded and historic golf campus with a strong research university presented an opportunity to conduct a holistic exploration into the benefits that golf courses offer to the ecological, social, economic, and cultural health of the communities that contain them, as well as the opportunity to identify potential recommendations to enhance these benefits. The project team utilized an exploration of current trends in the golf industry, specifically the growing movement for integration of sustainability management techniques, in conjunction with a broader multi-disciplinary focus to inform a working definition of sustainable golf. This definition correlated with the three tenets of permaculture: care for the land, care for the people, and the concept of fair share. The project team assessed the current state of the Blue Course and RFGC in research designed around these three tenets. Specific research included an ecological inventory and site analysis, community perception survey and a study of pre- and post-test cognitive function in golfers, and a high-level, qualitative analysis of economic implications. Using the findings and results from this research, the project team provided recommendations informed by the tenets of sustainable golf. The recommendations presented by the Greener Golf Master’s Project Team highlight three approaches to pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a sustainable golf course. The Greener Golf Master’s Project Team has broadly labeled these three recommendations as engagement, accessibility, and innovation. In addition to the recommendations provided, the Greener Golf Master’s Project Team provided the design for a golf course and event space at RFGC that would provide multiple beneficial functions; one of them being the creation of a “living laboratory” where innovations in sustainable golf course management can be tested prior to implementation on the 18-hole golf courses. The team has preliminarily recommended the site be named the Gateway Course due its proximity to the entrance to RFGC as well as its mission to open a new door to how golf courses can play a role in society in the future. Appendix I is a project summary that includes further discussion of the team’s recommendations. This summary is intended for those who wish to learn more about the project, but cannot read the full report below. In addition, the project summary can be used in public distribution for press and other media opportunities.Master of Science Master of Landscape ArchitectureNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111007/1/GreenerGolfWhitePaper_FINAL.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111007/2/GreenerGolf_GatewayDesignGuide_FINAL.pdfDescription of GreenerGolfWhitePaper_FINAL.pdf : Greener Golf DocumentDescription of GreenerGolf_GatewayDesignGuide_FINAL.pdf : Greener Golf Design Guid

Building Machines That Learn and Think Like People

Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has renewed interest in building systems that learn and think like people. Many advances have come from using deep neural networks trained end-to-end in tasks such as object recognition, video games, and board games, achieving performance that equals or even beats humans in some respects. Despite their biological inspiration and performance achievements, these systems differ from human intelligence in crucial ways. We review progress in cognitive science suggesting that truly human-like learning and thinking machines will have to reach beyond current engineering trends in both what they learn, and how they learn it. Specifically, we argue that these machines should (a) build causal models of the world that support explanation and understanding, rather than merely solving pattern recognition problems; (b) ground learning in intuitive theories of physics and psychology, to support and enrich the knowledge that is learned; and (c) harness compositionality and learning-to-learn to rapidly acquire and generalize knowledge to new tasks and situations. We suggest concrete challenges and promising routes towards these goals that can combine the strengths of recent neural network advances with more structured cognitive models.Comment: In press at Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Open call for commentary proposals (until Nov. 22, 2016). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/information/calls-for-commentary/open-calls-for-commentar

A knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis

Enhancing our knowledge of the complexities of cities in order to empower ourselves to make more informed decisions has always been a challenge for urban research. Recent developments in large-scale computing, together with the new techniques and automated tools for data collection and analysis are opening up promising opportunities for addressing this problem. The main motivation that served as the driving force behind this research is how these developments may contribute to urban data analysis. On this basis, the thesis focuses on urban data analysis in order to search for findings that can enhance our knowledge of urban environments, using the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining. A knowledge discovery process based on data mining is a fully automated or semi-automated process which involves the application of computational tools and techniques to explore the “previously unknown, and potentially useful information” (Witten & Frank, 2005) hidden in large and often complex and multi-dimensional databases. This information can be obtained in the form of correlations amongst variables, data groupings (classes and clusters) or more complex hypotheses (probabilistic rules of co-occurrence, performance vectors of prediction models etc.). This research targets researchers and practitioners working in the field of urban studies who are interested in quantitative/ computational approaches to urban data analysis and specifically aims to engage the interest of architects, urban designers and planners who do not have a background in statistics or in using data mining methods in their work. Accordingly, the overall aim of the thesis is the development of a knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis; a domain-specific adaptation of the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining enabling the analyst to discover ‘relational urban knowledge’. ‘Relational urban knowledge’ is a term employed in this thesis to refer to the potentially ‘useful’ and/or ‘valuable’ information patterns and relationships that can be discovered in urban databases by applying data mining algorithms. A knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis through data mining can help us to understand site-specific characteristics of urban environments in a more profound and useful way. On a more specific level, the thesis aims towards ‘knowledge discovery’ in traditional thematic maps published in 2008 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as a basis of the Master Plan for the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. These thematic maps, which represent urban components, namely buildings, streets, neighbourhoods and their various attributes such as floor space use of the buildings, land price, population density or historical importance, do not really extend our knowledge of Beyoğlu Preservation Area beyond documenting its current state and do not contribute to the interventions presented in the master plan. However it is likely that ‘useful’ and ‘valuable’ information patterns discoverable using data mining algorithms are hidden in them. In accordance with the stated aims, three research questions of the thesis concerns (1) the development of a general process model to adapt the generic process of knowledge discovery using data mining for urban data analysis, (2) the investigation of information patterns and relationships that can be extracted from the traditional thematic maps of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area by further developing and implementing this model and (3) the investigation of how could this ‘relational urban knowledge’ support architects, urban designers or urban planners whilst developing intervention proposals for urban regeneration. A Knowledge Discovery Process Model (KDPM) for urban analysis was developed, as an answer to the the first research question. The KDPM for urban analysis is a domain-specific adaptation of the widely accepted process of knowledge discovery in databases defined by Fayyad, Piatetsky-Shapiro, and Smyth (1996b). The model describes a semi-automated process of database formulation, analysis and evaluation for extracting information patterns and relationships from raw data by combining both GIS and data mining functionalities in a complementary way. The KDPM for urban analysis suggests that GIS functionalities can be used to formulate a database, and GIS and data mining can complement each other in analyzing the database and evaluating the outcomes. The model illustrates that the output of a GIS platform can become the input for a data mining platform and vice versa, resulting in an interlinked analytical process which allows for a more sophisticated analysis of urban data. To investigate the second and third research questions, firstly the KDPM for urban analysis was further developed to construct a GIS database of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area from the thematic maps. Then, three implementations were performed using this GIS database; the Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database consisting of multiple features attributed to the buildings. In Implementation (1), the KDPM for urban analysis was used to investigate a variety of patterns and relationships that can be extracted from the database using three different data mining methods. In Implementations (2) and (3), the KDPM for urban analysis was implemented to test how the knowledge discovery approach through data mining proposed in this thesis can assist in developing draft plans for the regeneration of a run-down neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu Preservation Area (Tarlabaşı). In Implementation (2), the KDPM for urban analysis is implemented in combination with an evolutionary process to apply a regeneration approach developed by the author; a computational process which generates draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation was developed. In Implementation (3), students applied the KDPM for urban analysis during the course of an international workshop. The model enabled them to explore site-specific particularities of Tarlabaşı that would support their urban intervention proposals. Among the outputs of the thesis three of them are considered as utilizable outputs that distinguish this thesis from previous studies: The KDPM for urban analysis. Although there have been other studies which make use of data mining methods and techniques combined with GIS technology, to the best of our knowledge no previous research has implemented a process model to depict this process and used the model to extract ‘knowledge’ from traditional thematic maps. Researchers and practitioners can re-use this process model to analyze other urban environments. The KDPM for urban analysis is, therefore, one of the main utilizable outputs of the thesis and an important scientific contribution of this study. The Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database. A large and quite comprehensive GIS database which consists of 45 spatial and non-spatial features attributed to the 11,984 buildings located in the Beyoğlu Preservation Area was constructed. This database is one of the original features of this study. To the best of our knowledge, there are no other examples of applications of data mining using such a comprehensive GIS database, constructed from a range of actual micro-scale data representing such a variety of features attributed to the buildings. This database can be re-used by analysts interested in studying the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. The Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database is therefore one of the main utilizable outputs of the thesis and represents a scientific contribution to the research material on the Beyoğlu Preservation Area. A computational process which generates draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation, using GIS and data mining functionalities with evolutionary computation. This output of the thesis was generated by Implementation (2), which aimed to investigate Research Question (3). The overall process involved the successive application of Naïve Bayes Classification, Association Rule Analysis and an Evolutionary Algorithm to a subset of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area Building Features Database representing the Tarlabaşı neighbourhood. Briefly, the findings of the data mining analysis were used to formulate a set of rules for assigning ground floor use information to the buildings. These rules were then used for fitness measurements of an Evolutionary Algorithm, together with other fitness measurements for assigning user-profile and tenure-type information (defined by the author according to the regeneration approach developed by the author). As a result, the algorithm transformed the existing allocation of the ground floor use in the buildings located in Tarlabaşı in accordance with the given rules and assigned user-profile and tenure type information for each building. This computational process demonstrated one way to use the data mining analysis findings in developing intervention proposals for urban regeneration. A similar computational process can be implemented in other urban contexts by researchers and practitioners. To the best of our knowledge, no prior research has used data mining analysis findings for fitness measurements of an Evolutionary Algorithm in order to produce draft plans for ground floor use, user-profile and tenure-type allocation. This is, therefore, the most original scientific contribution and utilizable output of the thesis. As a result of the research, on the basis of the data that is available in the thematic maps of the Beyoğlu Preservation Area, the potential of a knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis in revealing the relationships between various components of urban environments and their various attributes is demonstrated. It is also demonstrated that these relationships can reveal site-specific characteristics of urban environments and if found ‘valuable’ by the the targeted researchers and practitioners, these can lead to the development of more informed intervention proposals. Thereby the knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis developed in this thesis may help to improve the quality of urban intervention proposals and consequently the quality of built environments. On the other hand, the implementations carried out in the thesis also exposed the major limitation of the knowledge discovery approach to urban analysis through data mining, which is the fact that the findings discoverable by this approach are limited by the relevant data that is collectable and accessible

Critical Environmentalism - Towards an Epistemic Framework for Architecture

Upon identifying the multifaceted and disparate array of ever-changing environmental informants to architectural discourse, one is confronted with how to unite this dialogue in meaningful ways to current modes of thought and action. The question gains more significance as our knowledge of the greater environmental domain becomes more systemic and complexly heterogenic, while at the same time, approaches to the issues have proved to be progressively more reductivist, disconnected, overtly abstracted or theorized, and universally globalized in regard to multifaceted and content-rich human particularities in situ. This research focuses on the implications and applications of Critical Environmentalism (CE) to propose a corresponding epistemological framework to wide-ranging socio-environmental complexities occurring across architectural endeavors, primarily within urban and community developments as comprising the greatest number of intersections between human constructions and the greater environmental domain. CE addresses environmental issues reciprocally emerging across numerous disciplines and theoretical stances and fosters critical and systemically collective approaches to knowledge integration, amalgamating multiple stakeholder perspectives within an interconnective and operational goal of creative communal development and betterment of the human condition in relation to environmental concerns. Situating the environment (Umwelt) as an interconnecting catalyst between divergent points-of-views, CE promotes a multi-methodological, co-enabling framework intended to foster increased ethical and participatory dynamics, communal vitality, co-invested attention, and productive interchanges of knowledge that cultivate an overall quality of knowing and being within the intricacies of the greater domain. As such, it engages broader definitions for architecture within its social community, significantly embodied and epistemologically co-substantiating within a shared, environmental life-place. Fundamentally a hermeneutic standpoint, this investigation elucidates conceptual connections and mutual grounds, objectives, and modes-of-operation across knowledge domains, initiating an essential, socio-environmentally oriented framework for architectural endeavors. In this, it brings together common threads within critical social theory and environmentalist discourse to subsequently promote distinct interconnective components within a framework of socio-environmental thought for architecture. The research then provides case examples and recommendations toward stimulating progressive environmental initiatives and thus increased capacity to improve existing epistemic conditions for architecture, urban design, and community development within the broader scope of Critical Environmentalism