Understanding the relationship between land use/land cover (LULC) and land surface temperature (LST) has long been an area of interest in urban and environmental study fields. To examine this, existing studies have utilized both white-box and black-box approaches, including regression, decision tree, and artificial intelligence models. To overcome the limitations of previous models, this study adopted the explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) approach in examining the relationships between LULC and LST. By integrating the XGBoost and SHAP model, we developed the LST prediction model in Seoul and estimated the LST reduction effects after specific LULC changes. Results showed that the prediction accuracy of LST was maximized when landscape, topographic, and LULC features within a 150 m buffer radius were adopted as independent variables. Specifically, the existence of surrounding built-up and vegetation areas were found to be the most influencing factors in explaining LST. In this study, after the LULC changes from expressway to green areas, approximately 1.5 °C of decreasing LST was predicted. The findings of our study can be utilized for assessing and monitoring the thermal environmental impact of urban planning and projects. Also, this study can contribute to determining the priorities of different policy measures for improving the thermal environment.

Unplanned and rapid urban growth requires the reckless expansion of infrastructure including water, sewage, energy, and transportation facilities, and thus causes environmental problems such as deterioration of old towns, reduction of open spaces, and air pollution. To alleviate and prevent such problems induced by urban growth, the accurate prediction and management of urban expansion is crucial. In this context, this study aims at modeling and predicting urban expansion in Seoul metropolitan area (SMA), Korea, using GIS and XAI techniques. To this end, we examined the effects of land-cover, socio-economic, and environmental features in 2007 and 2019, within the optimal radius from a certain raster cell. Then, this study combined the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model and Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) in analyzing urban expansion. The findings of this study suggest urban growth is dominantly affected by land-cover characteristics, followed by topographic attributes. In addition, the existence of water body and high ECVAM grades tend to significantly reduce the possibility of urban expansion. The findings of this study are expected to provide several policy implications in urban and environmental planning fields, particularly for effective and sustainable management of lands.

This study investigates the association between aggressive driving behavior and elderly pedestrian traffic accidents using the Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) method. This study focuses on Seoul, South Korea, where an aging population and urban challenges create a pressing need for pedestrian safety research. The analysis reveals that aggressive driving behaviors, particularly rapid acceleration, rapid deceleration, and speeding, are the most influential factors on the frequency of and deaths from elderly pedestrian traffic accidents. In addition, several built environments and demographic factors such as the number of crosswalks and elderly population play varying roles depending on the spatial match or mismatch between risky driving areas and accident spots. The findings of this study underscore the importance of tailored interventions including well-lit crosswalks, traffic calming measures, and driver education, to reduce the vulnerabilities of elderly pedestrians. The integration of XAI methods provides transparency and interpretability, enabling policymakers to make data-driven decisions. Expanding this approach to other urban contexts with diverse characteristics could validate and refine the findings, contributing to a comprehensive strategy for improving pedestrian safety globally.

Abnormal weather is occurring around the world, including the hottest weather in 174 years of observation records, the largest fire in Europe’s observation records, and approximately twice the average annual rainfall recorded in one day. This abnormal climate is highly related to greenhouse gases, and efforts to reduce emissions are required in various fields. This paper aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector, which accounts for a high proportion of emissions. A multi-agent reinforcement learning technique is used for adaptive traffic signal control, and especially a novel cooperative approach is introduced, when considering neighboring intersections. We consider not only the adjacent intersection’s last reward as a Q-function but also its state and action as state. This method has the advantage of considering only vehicles from adjacent intersections that enter an intersection. The proposed method was evaluated on roads in Icheon City, and the results show that it reduces waiting time and carbon dioxide emissions.

The growing concerns over road safety and the increasing popularity of two-wheeled vehicles highlight the need to address aggressive driving behaviors in this context. Understanding and detecting such behaviors can significantly contribute to rider safety and accident prevention. The primary aim of this research is to develop an effective method for detecting aggressive driving patterns, specifically focusing on rapid turns and lane-change maneuvers using two-wheeled vehicles. To achieve this objective, we conducted a survey to establish criteria for aggressive driving. Subsequently, we collected data through a virtual simulator, implementing staged aggressive driving scenarios. The data underwent preprocessing, feature engineering, and deep learning model training for detection. The results of this study demonstrate the successful detection of aggressive driving patterns, including rapid turns and lane changes, using sensor data. The criterion for rapid turns is specified as a significant change in sensor values within 1 s. In the CNN-LSTM model for aggressive lane changes, the precision for normal driving is 0.97, and the overall accuracy for aggressive driving is 95%. Our approach, which relies on sensor technology rather than impractical camera systems, showcases the potential for enhancing rider safety in two-wheeled vehicles. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights into the detection of aggressive driving patterns in two-wheeled vehicles. By leveraging sensor data and innovative methods, it offers promising implications for improving rider safety and accident prevention in the future.

The delivery market in Republic of Korea has experienced significant growth, leading to a surge in motorcycle-related accidents. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data collection systems for motorcycle safety management. This study focused on designing and implementing a foundational data collection system to monitor and evaluate motorcycle driving behavior. To achieve this, eleven risky behaviors were defined, identified using image-based, GIS-based, and inertial-sensor-based methods. A motorcycle-mounted sensing device was installed to assess driving, with drivers reviewing their patterns through an app and all data monitored via a web interface. The system was applied and tested using a testbed. This study is significant as it successfully conducted foundational data collection for motorcycle safety management and designed and implemented a system for monitoring and evaluation.