City data is now available literally at the public’s fingertips, no data analytics skills required.
Washington, D.C. recently launched a generative AI tool trained on 2,000 open data sets, reports Jonathan Andrews for Cities Today. The beta version of DC Compass, a chatbot similar to ChatGPT, is now accessible to city staff and residents to ask data-oriented civic questions and generate maps at a keystroke.
The city worked with Esri, a giant in the geographic information systems space, on a private beta for six months to improve the software, which is powered by Esri’s cloud-based mapping and analysis platform ArcGIS Online.
“You no longer need to be a data scientist or a spreadsheet wizard to analyse DC’s vast open data catalogue,” DC’s Interim Chief Technology Officer Stephen Miller said in a press release.
The move is part of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Artificial Intelligence Values Statement and Strategic Plan, which lays out a framework for using AI to improve the functionality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the local government
FULL STORY: Washington DC opens data to public through AI platform
Cities and States Taking Action to Limit Rent-Setting AI
Federal prosecutors are charging a software company with using algorithms to artificially inflate rents.
How AI Can Improve Public Transit
Machine learning and AI can transform the way transit agencies operate and make service faster and more comfortable for users.
The Role of AI in Streamlining Municipal Services and Operations
Explore how artificial intelligence optimizes municipal services, enhancing efficiency in urban planning, traffic management, and public safety.
How the Trump Presidency Could Impact Urban Planning
An analysis of potential changes in federal housing, transportation, and climate policies.
Research Affirms Safety of ‘Idaho Stop’
Allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs does not negatively impact safety and can help people on bikes more effectively navigate roadways.
Midburbs: A New Definition of Suburbs
When the name “suburb” just doesn't quite fit.
The Urban Heat Divide: Addressing LA’s Thermal Inequities
LA's thermal inequities leave low-income, minority neighborhoods disproportionately hotter and more vulnerable, prompting advocacy and policy efforts to address these disparities through green infrastructure and equitable climate investments.
Healing the Land: Collaborative Effort to Reclaim Orphan Well Sites
The Well Done Foundation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are partnering to plug over 110 orphan wells across four National Wildlife Refuges, restoring habitats, protecting ecosystems, and reducing methane emissions.
The Apartment Through History
The humble apartment, as a typology, has been with us for millennia.
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.
Placer County
Skagit Transit
Berkeley County
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
M-NCPPC Prince George's County Planning Department
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service