InclusiViz: Visual Analytics of Human Mobility Data for Understanding and Mitigating Urban Segregation

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Department of Computer Science and Engineering


MPhil Thesis Defence


Title: "InclusiViz: Visual Analytics of Human Mobility Data for 
Understanding and Mitigating Urban Segregation"

By

Mr. Yue YU


Abstract:

Urban segregation refers to the physical and social division of people, 
often driving inequalities within cities and exacerbating socioeconomic and 
racial tensions. While most studies focus on residential spaces, they often 
neglect segregation across "activity spaces" where people work, socialize, 
and engage in leisure. Human mobility data offers new opportunities to 
analyze broader segregation patterns, encompassing both residential and 
activity spaces, but challenges existing methods in capturing the complexity 
and local nuances of urban segregation. This work introduces InclusiViz, a 
novel visual analytics system for multi-level analysis of urban segregation, 
facilitating the development of targeted, data-driven interventions. 
Specifically, we developed a deep learning model to predict mobility 
patterns across social groups using environmental features, augmented with 
explainable AI to reveal how these features influence segregation. The 
system integrates innovative visualizations that allow users to explore 
segregation patterns from broad overviews to fine-grained detail and 
evaluate urban planning interventions with real-time feedback. We conducted 
a quantitative evaluation to validate the model's accuracy and efficiency. 
Two case studies and expert interviews with social scientists and urban 
analysts demonstrated the system's effectiveness, highlighting its potential 
to guide urban planning toward more inclusive cities.


Date:                   Wednesday, 16 July 2025

Time:                   2:00pm - 4:00pm

Venue:                  Room 3494
                        Lifts 25/26

Chairman:               Dr. Arpit NARECHANIA

Committee Members:      Prof. Huamin QU (Supervisor)
                        Prof. Cameron CAMPBELL (Co-supervisor, SOSC)
                        Dr. Qifeng CHEN