This is the second article in a new monthly column on AI and urban planning by AICP planner and AI specialist Tom Sanchez. Here, read his first column, “Four Reasons for Planners Can’t Ignore AI.”
Urban planning is always a creative field. From Hausmann’s grand redesign in Paris in the 1860s to Jane Jacobs’ battle to maintain the vibrant streets of Greenwich Village in the 1960s, creativity and design shaped the city’s appearance, feel and function. In the death and life of the great American city, Jacobs states, “Cities have the ability to provide something to everyone. Her quote implies the importance of both creativity and inclusiveness in the planning process.
But today, planners face challenges that seem bigger and more complicated than ever, including climate change, housing shortages and the rapid pace of technological change. To meet these challenges, you need knowledge, ideas and innovative approaches. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (Genai), has gained attention (and concern) for designing urban spaces.
In a recent article I wrote for Tad Journal (Technology | Architecture + Design), I proposed that AI could not just be a technical tool, but could act as a creative partner that extends to images, text, coding, and knowledge management. For me, it’s almost like bounceling ideas from a colleague. In both cases, AI can help me see what I might not have considered myself, pushing my thoughts up in new, sometimes surprising directions. But before we discuss how AI fits in, let’s take a step back and think about the meaning of creativity and how it connects to today’s plans.
The meaning of creativity in planning
When most people hear the word “creativity,” they probably think about painting, music, writing, or other artistic pursuits. These activities reflect the process of exploration, experimentation and refinement where ideas evolve through sustainability and engagement, rather than sudden inspiration. However, creativity is not limited to art. It plays an important role in all areas. In technical innovation, creativity encourages the discovery of new solutions and the fusion of ideas across the field, rethinking what is possible. Creating computers and analytical processes is a prominent example, especially when considering the contributions of Alan Turing, John von Neumann, and Benoit Mandelbrot. Their work has not only changed mathematics and computing, but also opened up a whole new way of thinking about the complexities, systems, patterns and concepts that are central to modern urban planning.
Veteran planner, AICP Norm Wright offers a way to help you think about creativity in our field. It happens when we understand the problems we are facing and accept the range of resources to provide solutions. “In other words, planning creativity is not creativity for itself, but solving problems in a way that produces better results as quickly as possible.
Consider, for example, Wright’s experience managing the conflict of oil and gas fracking along a suburban fringe in Denver. Wright and his team have been severely constrained by state preemptive and competing interests between industry, community and environmental groups, avoiding solutions of all sizes. Instead, they have developed three carefully designed policy alternatives, each addressing the concerns of different stakeholders. This approach helped build trust by providing a “selective architecture” rather than a single compromised policy, facilitating informed decisions for elected officials. This case shows that planning creativity often lies in building not only bold visions, but also real choices that address complexity head-on.
Other examples include the New York City High Line. The once abandoned rising railroad line is now one of the world’s most famous urban parks, designed by Field Operations, Diller Skofidio + Renfro and Pietoudorf. First implemented in 2016, Barcelona’s Superblock (Supers) rethinks the streets for people, not cars. These examples show that planning creativity isn’t just about making something look good. It involves solving difficult problems and improving the quality of life while juggling budgets, policies and politics.
How AI can inspire new ideas
I don’t think AI will replace planners, but hopefully it will open up new ways to think about the problems we are facing. Genai tools such as Midjourney, Dall-E, and Adobe Firefly can generate quick design ideas and visualizations that surpass what we might come up with ourselves. These tools can suggest possibilities that we may not see by simply sticking to the usual methods. It stimulates other ideas even if the results are incomplete. Essentially, they act as creative partners, provide new perspectives, and accelerate the early stages of design and problem solving.
Simulation tools are also useful. Want to know how the new park will affect traffic patterns and local temperatures? AI can model a variety of scenarios, allowing planners to visualize potential impacts before construction begins. And when it comes to public engagement, AI can help visualize these possibilities in a way that the community can understand and engage more easily.
Human roles, and in this case, planners rely heavily on the quality of the prompt, or the questions or instructions they ask the AI. Well-created prompts help guide AI to relevant, insightful, creative and valuable output. In many ways, prompts become a new form of design thinking. It requires a sense of clarity, curiosity and an inquiry. The more you ask thoughtful AI questions and framing specific challenges, the more you can expand your creative potential and support communication with stakeholders.
Below is a very simple example of how the specificity of the Genai prompt makes a difference in the type of output it was generated: Starting with a basic image of the park space, we will be asking ChatGpt (i.e. Dall-E 3, a model of images from text) to say, “I’m looking for ideas to improve this park space. I uploaded the following image along with the prompt.
The ai-generated content may be incorrect. ” height=”416″ src=”https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeTDKg7MSBwoWWo1CgnwtLUizo89wI2Yd8AdIstZCrtmfxWI709bgddcXuXW-FDb9Kea1kUxdXJp_FXp3nOmRS_CiqLF1Y8StzHDjJ3ZsswI9Rwiu4VHcB3NJuKf1da1hHNzE3hq?key=pbqgZ2LI2t4gMgox12xKsw” width=”623″ loading=”lazy”/>
This output can be compared to a relatively detailed prompt. “We are looking for ideas to improve this park space, which includes a seating area for children and parents with shade, and perhaps a water fountain. This created the following image:
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I would like to thank Norm Wright from AICP for his insightful comments and thoughts. Norm is the founder and principal of the parameter consultant.
Also, thank you to Lynn Myers for thinking about creativity. Lynn is a visual artist based in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.
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