Digital Gossip and Neighborhood Value: How AI Captures the Perceptions That Shape Neighborhood Premiums

This event has reached capacity.

In person only at the Plimpton Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge.

Why do similar homes in different Chicago neighborhoods sell for vastly different prices? Beyond property characteristics, a neighborhood's reputation—or the informal "gossip" and social narratives circulating online—shape its economic value. University of Pennsylvania associate professor Elizabeth Delmelle will discuss work-in-progress exploring whether AI systems can help us quantify these intangible "vibes.” Delmelle and the Center’s managing director Chris Herbert will also discuss the promise and limitations of using large language models to explore the real-world economic consequences of the stories we tell about places. 

Speakers: 

Elizabeth Delmelle, Associate Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning and Director, Master of Urban Spatial Analytics Program, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Chris Herbert, Managing Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies

Registration is required. Lunch will be provided.

Part of the Mahindra Humanities Center's Urban Conversations series; co-sponsored with the Center for Geographic Analysis, the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative, and the Department of Urban Planning and Design at GSD.