An intrepid student has created a simple chatbot program that helps people get out of parking tickets.

Cyrus Farivar reports: "Joshua Browder, a 19-year-old British student at Stanford University, has created a chatbot (DoNotPay.co.uk) that successfully challenged parking tickets in London and New York City."
The chatbot works by asking a few simple questions (via AI or webform) and then auto-generating a legal appeal for the parking ticket.
Browder claims that the chatbot has challenged 160,000 parking tickets so far, and has a "low 60 percent" success rate in beating the rap. Browder also credits the success rate to overzealous implementation of parking regulations. Browder also says that the model is likely to work in other cities, because "If it can work in New York it can work anywhere." Seattle is the next target.
FULL STORY: This chatbot appeals parking tickets and wins 60 percent of the time

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

The Simple Legislative Tool Transforming Vacant Downtowns
In California, Michigan and Georgia, an easy win is bringing dollars — and delight — back to city centers.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

In More Metros Than You’d Think, Suburbs are Now More Expensive Than the City
If you're moving to the burbs to save on square footage, data shows you should think again.

The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace
In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.

The Small South Asian Republic Going all in on EVs
Thanks to one simple policy change less than five years ago, 65% of new cars in this Himalayan country are now electric.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)