Computer vision and machine learning promise to change the way we see and understand urban life.
Rapidly evolving technology has the capacity to change the way we see and design urban places, writes Patrick Sisson in an article for Curbed. Machine learning is used in architecture to better design places and respond to changing tastes. Retailers are looking for better ways to serve customers, including cashier-less checkouts. Urban planners can use it to better design shared space. Transportation planners can better plan improvements as simple as location of a new crosswalk.
Drawbacks persist. One is facial recognition technology, which is less accurate among nonwhites and women. Most agree that privacy and anonymity cannot be sacrificed for data. Yet technology will continue to shape our cities.
"William Whyte, for all his skilled observations, was ultimately a bystander with better memory. New technology is creating not just an observer, but an omniscient narrator."
FULL STORY: Your City is Watching You

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions