AI and the Future of Cities
As we draw closer to 2050, a staggering 70% of the world’s population is predicted to reside in urban areas, presenting formidable challenges for urban planners. To navigate this complexity, planners are increasingly leveraging technology, particularly generative AI, to assist in the design, evaluation, and development of crowded urban environments.
Innovators in urban planning envision AI as a tool for examining development proposals, scrutinizing zoning adjustments, and formulating or refining city master plans. This promising technology holds the potential to significantly enhance efficiency in urban planning processes.
Taking a proactive approach, a team at Virginia Tech ventured into utilizing AI to assess the walkability of specific locales. By analyzing images to identify features such as benches, streetlights, and sidewalks, AI demonstrated its ability to automate strenuous yet straightforward tasks. This automation could potentially allow urban planners to dedicate more time to addressing complex city issues like affordable housing, climate adaptation, and evolving work environments.
Though the integration of generative AI, or “PlanTech,” into urban planning is promising, it comes with its own set of challenges. A critical question emerges: Does AI provide sufficient value to justify its cost?
The financial and environmental costs associated with constructing and operating AI infrastructure are considerable. If AI only addresses minor issues, municipalities may question the investment’s justification. Additionally, with the urban planning field’s intricate history regarding inequality, there are heightened sensitivities about biased data influencing AI model outcomes.
Despite significant advancements in PlanTech, some argue that it may be perceived as “cool” yet superficial, enhancing aspects of urban life without solving underlying problems like public health crises or soaring housing costs.
The early 2000s saw the emergence of “smart cities” as one of the first efforts to weave advanced technologies into urban planning. Using information and communication technology (ICT), such as 3D imaging and information modeling, these cities aim to elevate the quality of urban services. For instance, San Francisco’s smart waste management system employs sensors and online connectivity to streamline waste collection and disposal.
While technology adoption in smart cities has facilitated efficiency improvements, it is uncertain whether these advancements have enhanced citizens’ quality of life. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers investigated whether leading smart cities fared better in pandemic management. They found that cities scoring high on “smart city” indices, including environment, mobility, and urban planning, did not necessarily outperform others in managing the pandemic.
Concerns persist that smart cities’ emphasis on modeling and algorithms might overlook elements of urban life that aren’t easily quantifiable.
Another recent technological innovation in urban planning is the concept of “digital twins.” These virtual, real-time replicas of urban environments span from individual buildings to entire cities. Like NASA’s digital simulators for astronaut training, digital twins enable planners to test their designs and land use strategies before they come to fruition.
Digital twins allow municipalities to prepare for natural disasters such as floods or heat waves and devise resilient strategies. By modeling new constructions or areas, scenarios can be explored before actual development begins. This technology promises to identify and mitigate future challenges, yet several hurdles impede its widespread adoption. A significant challenge is creating and sustaining digital twin simulations, demanding extensive data from varied and often incompatible sources.
As the scope and intricacy of the simulated area grow, integrating and updating essential data becomes increasingly daunting. Moreover, there is an ongoing concern that not all urban landscape aspects can be quantified within a model.
The demand for advanced technological tools in urban planning is expected to grow alongside AI development. However, despite technological assistance, these tools are unlikely to replace human planners.
Urban planners are entrusted with enhancing city dwellers’ lives, a responsibility that necessitates a multidisciplinary approach covering land use, social sciences, ethics, and public health. As the planning profession anticipates further technological disruptions, it is essential to embrace complexity and strive for more than mere short-term efficiency gains.
