# Deep Learning of Street View Imagery to assess Urban Green Space Relationships with Mental Health:  A Twin Study

> **NIH NIH R21** · OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $185,625

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The built environment is an important modifiable determinant of human health, yet our ability to understand its
effects on human health have been limited by the lack of scalable data on specific components (and
exposures) of the built environment. The emergence of ubiquitous geo-referenced imagery in the United States
(e.g. Google Street View Imagery), combined with recent advances in image processing using deep learning
algorithms, offers unprecedented opportunity for measuring street-level built environment features at scales
needed for population-based research. To develop and demonstrate the potential of deep learning algorithms
for environmental health research we will: develop methods to assess green space features using street view
imagery and deep learning algorithms; create new deep learning algorithms to predict urban green space
quality, stress reduction and restorative potential; and apply new street view measures to 9,070 adult Twin
Pairs in the Washington Twin Registry to determine associations between green space and mental health. Our
proposed study will dramatically move the field of environmental health forward by provided a completely new,
transferable and scalable exposure assessment method for assessing built environment exposures relevant to
human health and provide robust information on how urban green space influences mental health. Overall, our
new approach will provide rich new data sources for environmental epidemiologists, city planners, policy
makers and neighborhoods and communities at large.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998736
- **Project number:** 5R21ES029722-02
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lizhong Chen
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $185,625
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-17 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998736

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998736, Deep Learning of Street View Imagery to assess Urban Green Space Relationships with Mental Health:  A Twin Study (5R21ES029722-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998736. Licensed CC0.

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