Will future smart city planning rely on human brain activity?

The proportion of the population living in urban environments has increased significantly, from 33% in 1960 to 57% in 2023. By 2050, the urban population is expected to double from its current level, with nearly 70% of people choosing to live in cities.

Cities have long been at the heart of human civilization. The first traces of urban settlements, which appeared more than 6,000 years ago in Egypt and Mesopotamia (the Middle East), marked the beginning of the development of social, cultural, and economic organization.

Since then, cities have grown steadily, especially during the Industrial Revolution, when urban networks expanded at a dizzying pace, becoming the driving force behind the advancement of science, technology and the global economy.

Industrial demand has historically been the main driver of urban growth and expansion. However, rapid urbanization has brought with it a number of challenges, including reduced green space, increased traffic noise and social inequality.

Today, urban planning has changed its orientation, focusing on meeting needs, ensuring safety and improving the quality of life for the community.

The development of technology has revolutionized urban planning, opening up more modern and efficient management methods. From applying the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart systems to optimize resource management, to designing cities compatible with the brain activity and physiological needs of residents, technology is shaping a smarter and more humane urban future.

A groundbreaking approach in smart city planning: Neurocities.

To better understand the mental structure of urban space, a new interdisciplinary approach has gradually emerged and become popular, which is neuro-urbanism. This method combines neuroscience, urban studies and architecture, aiming to research and apply insights from the above fields to optimize urban design.

Specifically, neuroscientists provide insights into how the brain responds to environmental factors, while urban researchers study the behavior and needs of residents in public spaces.

Architects and urban planners then use this data to build cities and living spaces that are not only beautiful, but also friendly to the health and spiritual development of people, meeting the psychological, emotional and social needs of residents in urban environments.

A recent study conducted by researchers from Michigan State University, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Lisbon (Portugal), is opening up new prospects in the application of neuroimaging technology in urban planning.

The goal of this research is to use advanced technologies to better understand how the brain responds to spatial elements in urban environments. By recording and analyzing neural responses as people interact with different urban spaces, the team hopes to provide guidelines for designing cities that optimize the psychological and physical health of residents and visitors.

In this way, they not only focus on physical elements such as infrastructure and architecture, but also deeply consider intangible elements, such as sense of security, comfort and social interaction, to create an ideal living and working environment, contributing to improving the quality of life of the community.

Regarding this study, Mr. Dar Meshi, the lead author of the study, said: "Neurourbanism has the potential to significantly contribute to the design of cities that prioritize cognitive, emotional and physical health. By prioritizing the health of individuals, cities can create environments that are beneficial to the overall health and well-being of their residents."

Human brain activity is the answer to smart city planning

To explore how the human brain encodes information related to urban environments, researchers conducted a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which scans and records brain activity.

In this study, they invited 77 US citizens who had never been to the Portuguese capital Lisbon to participate in an experiment. During the scan, these people were asked to view and rate photos depicting urban areas of Lisbon.

These photos were collected from the photo-sharing platform Flickr, and each photo was geotagged, allowing for precise location within the city. In particular, the density of photos in each area was used as an index to measure the visitation patterns and exploration of people at different locations in Lisbon.

These images are not just random photographs, but act as real data, reflecting how residents and visitors can interact and perceive the urban environment through visual experiences.

“Humans typically make decisions to maximize value, and because some urban areas stimulate brain activity related to value more strongly than others, city dwellers tend to spend more time visiting or photographing these places,” Meshi explains.

Findings from the study showed that neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, a key region in the brain's reward system involved in evaluation and decision-making, can accurately predict people's habits when choosing to approach or avoid a particular environment.

The results also suggest that this brain region may be involved in processing a range of value judgments in urban environments, including cognitive, social, and cultural values.

“People may be attracted to visit urban spaces not only because of their aesthetic appeal but also because of their social and cultural importance,” says Meshi.

“This could include places of historical or social significance, which may not necessarily be aesthetically beautiful, but are still of considerable value,” adds researcher Meshi.

Researchers believe that the neurourban approach could make an important contribution to improving urban planning strategies, helping to create more optimal living environments for residents.

“The insights from our research have the potential to inform the development of human-centric future cities, tailored to the way our brains perceive and interact with the environment,” said study co-author Ardaman Kaur.