Portrait of the City: Case Study on Bridging Place Identity and Emotional Engagement via Interactive Art Installations

As urbanization accelerates, modern cities face many challenges. One key dimension is the lack of identity awareness and emotional interaction between the public and the city. This paper reports an interdisciplinary project, Portrait of the City, an interactive installation located in various public spaces in Beijing, which aims to utilize Human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies (localized media data-driven, motion capture, AIGC, etc.) in conjunction with public spaces to bridge the emotional and humanities of the public’s connection to the city. We further evaluated its accessibility and practical effectiveness through exhibitions and mixed research methodology. The findings suggest that public interactive installations can activate collective memories, evoke diverse personal experiences, encourage ongoing dialogue about the city, and promote a closer link between civic and place identities. Our interdisciplinary case study may provide insights into HCI and public design as well as practical ideas for fostering more vibrant and culturally distinctive cities in the future.