The current research aims at investigating the potential of Image Segmentation (IS) as a data source for mapping, with a bottom-up approach, the spatial quality of slow routes, localized in the territories “in-between” the main cities. The paper analyses two different case studies in Lombardy and Molise regions, where a different territorial configuration and data are available. The IS method, that computes area percentages in the street-level imagery by using Pixellab/TensorFlow digital environment, has been applied for detecting three different environments that are intersected by the selected routes and that are also detectable by using GIS tools: open spaces, built environment and rows of trees. These have been considered as relevant since they affect the users’ perception of the places in a different way. The research points out how the IS method can be complementary to the GIS-based detection method to collect more detailed geo-information about the places, but also a very powerful tool to catch geo-information by the street-level imagery, in the territories where no thematic geospatial data are available.
A Technique to Measure the Spatial Quality of Slow Routes in Fragile Territories Using Image Segmentation
The current research aims at investigating the potential of image segmentation (IS) technology, based on web application, for measuring the spatial quality of slow routes. The big amount of street–level images, publicly available through several applications such as Mapillary, Google Street View, are rele-vant sources of information, that allow virtual explorations of many places around the world. The (IS) technology allows partitioning of a single digital image into sets of pixels in order to read and recognize the visual content within the frame of the image. By applying IS technology to the images taken along a defined route, it has established a method for grouping images in relation to their spatial features. The method has been applied to some stretches of slow–mobility routes, that are localized along the fragile coastal landscape of Trabucchi, south of Italy. A selection of images along the route, both in the outdoor and urban space, has been analyzed, with the aim to test the effectiveness of the method, able to produce useful information to define a Spatial Quality Index.