arXiv Machine Learning

Semi-Supervised Learning under Spatially Biased Sampling

arXiv AI
Jun 16

SLUM-i: Semi-supervised Learning for Urban Mapping of Informal Settlements and Data Quality Benchmarking

arXiv:2602. 04525v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Rapid urban expansion has fueled the growth of informal settlements in major cities of low- and middle-income countries, with Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan and Mumbai in India serving as prominent examples.

By Muhammad Taha Mukhtar, Syed Musa Ali Kazmi, Khola Naseem, Muhammad Ali Chattha, Andreas Dengel, Sheraz Ahmed, Muhammad Naseer Bajwa, Muhammad Imran Malik
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 30

Spatial Deconfounder: Interference-Aware Deconfounding for Spatial Causal Inference

arXiv:2510. 08762v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Causal inference in spatial domains faces two intertwined challenges: (1) unmeasured spatial factors, such as weather, air pollution, or mobility, that confound treatment and outcome, and (2) interference from nearby treatments that violate standard no-interference assumptions.

By Ayush Khot, Miruna Oprescu, Maresa Schr\"oder, Ai Kagawa, Xihaier Luo
arXiv Statistics ML
1d ago

Dynamic Spatial Bayesian Machine Learning Model: Applications to Intergenerational Economic Mobility and Geographic Income Inequality in the United States

The paper introduces DSP‑BART‑HS, a Dynamic Spatial Panel Bayesian Additive Regression Trees model with Horseshoe shrinkage, designed for high‑dimensional spatio‑temporal panel data. Across nine simulated scenarios, the model outperforms or matches a wide range of spatial econometric, non‑parametric machine learning, and small‑area estimators, especially when individual‑level non‑linearity drives outcome variance. The authors validate the method on two U.S. county‑level applications—intergenerational economic mobility and geographic income inequality—showing strong predictive accuracy even under unseen‑region, random, and temporal holdouts, while noting a temporal extrapolation advantage for a simpler autoregressive model.

By Hammed A. Olayinka, Saheed O. Olayemi
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 19

A multi-view contrastive learning framework for spatial embeddings in risk modelling

The paper introduces a multi‑view contrastive learning framework that creates low‑dimensional spatial embeddings by combining satellite imagery and OpenStreetMap data across Europe. These embeddings align with coordinate‑based encodings, allowing any dataset with latitude‑longitude pairs to be enriched with meaningful spatial features without needing the original spatial inputs. In case studies on French real‑estate prices and Belgian flood claim counts, models using the embeddings outperform those using raw coordinates, improving predictive accuracy and territorial risk classification while offering explainable spatial effects.

By Freek Holvoet, Christopher Blier-Wong, Katrien Antonio
arXiv AI
Aug 24

C-Score: Beyond Accuracy for Robustness Assessment in Semi-Supervised Learning under Open-World Unlabeled Contamination

The paper introduces C-Score, a diagnostic framework for evaluating pseudo‑label‑based semi‑supervised learning (SSL) when unlabeled data may contain out‑of‑distribution (OOD) samples. C-Score assesses training behavior across prediction, feature representation, and optimization, using metrics such as PLE, CCI, Sem‑Drift, and Grad‑Align. Experiments on CIFAR‑10 and CIFAR‑100 with various OOD sources show that C‑Score detects hidden degradation that clean accuracy alone fails to reveal, highlighting the need for internal diagnostic signals in SSL robustness assessment.

By Tsao-Lun Chen, Chi-Cheng Fu, Han-Yi E. Chou, Shun-Feng Su
arXiv Machine Learning
4d ago

DeepC4: Deep Conditional Census-Constrained Clustering for Large-scale Multitask Spatial Disaggregation of Urban Morphology

DeepC4 is a deep learning-based spatial disaggregation method that uses local census statistics as cluster-level constraints and incorporates multiple conditional label relationships in a multitask learning framework. Applied to Rwandan urban morphology, it achieves macro‑F1 scores of 0.63, 0.78, and 0.45 for roof, wall, and height prediction, respectively, and estimates national dwelling and occupant counts within about 1.1% error compared to census records. The approach outperforms existing GEM and METEOR methods and covers 32‑49% more 500‑meter grid pixels across provinces.

By Joshua Dimasaka, Christian Gei{\ss}, Emily So
arXiv AI
Sep 15

Transfer Learning for Socioeconomic Estimation in Forced-Displacement Settings

The paper presents a transfer‑learning approach that adapts a multimodal spatiotemporal vision transformer, originally trained on Demographic and Health Survey data, to estimate socioeconomic conditions in forced‑displacement settings. Using satellite‑derived geospatial covariates, the adapted model explains up to 66% of variation in socioeconomic outcomes in camp‑intersecting grids and 41% in non‑camp areas, achieving mean absolute errors of 4.37 and 5.41 index points respectively. This framework supplements periodic household surveys by providing regularly updated, spatially granular socioeconomic estimates that bridge data gaps between survey rounds.

By Steven Ndung'u, Adel Daoud, Ismael Yacoubou Djima, Hai-Anh H. Dang, Patrick Michael Brock