If we consider the pawns alone black has a worse position, he has two weaknesses. However the pawns are not the only pieces on the board. Whites lsb is a tall pawn with no real prospects ever since c5 is not going to be coming as long as black is alert. Flank pawns are easier to defend in general, with center pawns being weaker. However, black is already lined up to attack b3, while white needs to clear 2 pieces from the d file before being able to attack d6. He also has the lsb as a problem piece for an eternity. Black can also conveniently make use of several outposts/holes, while white cannot as easily/securely (knight will take a very long time to get to d4, where he can be taken out.
Looking at the game. Black's pieces find great homes and white's position is terrible. White can only sit and wait for his defeat, or going in for the sacrifice that they went for. The lsb is a terrible piece the whole game. Thus, my initial analysis seems to hold up.
This is recent Leela game! Check this position at move 17. Black turn. Black has isoloated pawn "a" pawn and "backward pawn "d "pawn, meanwhile white has backward pawn"b" pawn . I thought black's position was worse than white, however Leela thinks black's position is slightly better than white!
What did she do? How did she play positional chess. There is art of pieces maneuvering from move 17 to move 29.