Image Segmentation and Emotional Analysis of Virtual and Augmented Reality Urban Scenes

Implementing Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) solutions for participatory processes can support citizens’ understanding of urban design outcomes favoring multi-stakeholder collaboration. Moreover, the interaction of final users with virtual and augmented environments, representing actual conditions or design schemes, can lead to identifying how specific urban features (e.g., typologies of greenery, urban materials, buildings) can affect the experience of places of today and tomorrow, i.e., before proceeding to construction. In this perspective, we combine two analytical methods to investigate the relationship between the physical environment and its subjective perception. Indeed, image segmentation allows for analyzing the urban scenes' environmental features and the exp-EIA © (experiential—Environmental Impact Assessment) method investigating the geolocated people’s reactions to the environment. This paper introduces this overall approach and methodology and presents an application in Milan. The case study is in the Porta Romana-Vettabbia area, a southern district of the city of Milan (Italy), where the Fondazione Prada by OMA (2018) was recently built, and the Symbiosis district by Covivio R.E. and ACPV (Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel) is currently under construction, and the design project VITAE by Covivio R.E., Carlo Ratti Associati, and partners will be located. The results of such type of study can inform the urban design project process, starting from the analysis of the current conditions to the definition of urban design briefs and during the design development and decision-making phase, by supporting the identification of the spatialized experiential effects of the urban composition of natural and artificial elements.