In an ambitious venture to measure the heart of urban life, DePaul University is pioneering research to analyze public spaces through the lens of equity and emotion. Scientists, using eye-tracking tech and analyzing heartbeats, want to know: do urban spaces hit differently based on who you are?
A hefty $750,000 from the National Science Foundation is bankrolling the initiative. Professors Kimberly Quinn and Michelle Stuhlmacher have teamed up to essentially read minds and map feelings across Chicago's patchwork of neighborhoods. "Not everyone stays in their home census tract. We’ll get a much better picture of where they’re going and also how it makes them feel," Stuhlmacher told the Chicago Tribune.
The DePaul squad is on a mission, drafting a playbook that city shapers could use to ensure parks and streets vibe well with everyone. It's more than just feel-good science; it's a playbook for making feel-good neighborhoods. "We have a lot of information looking at people’s home neighborhoods, but we don’t have nearly as much understanding of other kinds of green spaces," said Stuhlmacher in a statement to the Tribune.
The research, to be unfurled over three years, spots patterns in motion and emotion, possibly charting new courses for city planners. Claudia Galeno-Sanchez of Women for Green Spaces believes in the project's potential. "We are in the middle of gentrification. I want to have a cleaner and more beautiful Pilsen, but my neighbors and I want to be able to stay and enjoy our work," she told DePaul Newsline.
Whether it's the windy paths in a park or the hush inside an art gallery, Quinn and Stuhlmacher, along with other researchers, are ready to decipher what urban nooks could do to help us chill or feel connected. With tech in tow, they're looking to scribble fresh pages in the annals of city buildings. "This research has the potential to help us change that," Quinn shared with excitement in an interview with DePaul Newsline, enthused about the project's humanitarian promise.
