The Impact of AI on Urban Planning and Design: A Mixed Bag

A study from Tsinghua University in China demonstrates that artificial intelligence (AI) can generate more efficient spatial layouts for urban planning than humans, outperforming human designs by about 50% in terms of access to services, green spaces, and traffic levels. The AI system, developed by automation scientist Yu Zheng and colleagues, can save significant time by automating tedious computational tasks, allowing human planners to focus on more challenging or human-centric aspects of urban planning. The researchers envision AI as an assistant to urban planners, generating concept designs that are optimized by algorithms and reviewed by human experts based on community feedback.