AI
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
To power data centers, Google seeks autonomous control of thousands of homes’ electricity
The tech company has signed a deal to indirectly pay Mid-Atlantic residents to reduce their power demand when the grid is strained.
Is AI really the Panacea to our permitting woes?
Let’s have a look at what’s happening on the ground.
The future of GIS, explored
The pros and cons of ArcGIS Urban, CityEngine, AI assistants and more notes from the 2026 Esri User Conference.
Does every planner need an AI policy?
From a hundred-person agency to a one-person consultancy, the answer is yes. The difference is what “policy" means.
5 ways to hallucination-proof your AI output
With public trust on the line, the stakes are high for urban planners to ensure accuracy in our AI work. Here’s how to do it.
Denver starts using AI to speed up housing permits
The CivCheck platform is designed to flag missing or incomplete application items and reduce the time it takes for applications to get approved.
Getting started with AI, part 2: What some planners are actually saying
Five practicing planners offer their advice for diving — cautiously — into using AI in their day-to-day work.
AI agents: What urban planners should know
The self-driving cars of the AI world open a trove of opportunities for planners — and a whole new set of challenges to overcome.
Getting Started with AI: A Practical Guide for Urban Planners
Planetizen’s resident AI and planning expert answers the number one question he gets asked: where do I begin?
San José’s Buses Run 20% Faster Thanks to AI
The city is employing AI to adjust traffic signals to prioritize buses.
AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
When AI stops talking and starts showing.
When “Neutrality” Becomes Blindness: The Perils of Censoring Race, Class, and Gender Data in Urban Planning
Political pushback against DEI is igniting right at the moment that AI is rising in urban planning. If we don’t fight it, the results could be catastrophic.
Geographers Aren’t Going Anywhere
Microsoft says AI renders my profession obsolete. They couldn’t be more wrong.
7 Ways Cyclists are Winning in the AI Revolution
For individual cyclists and transportation planners, AI offers some useful tools for understanding bike riders’ behavior and assessing gaps in a city’s bike infrastructure.
In Planning, the Possibilities With AI are High. So are the Stakes.
Planning history tells us that public trust is both fragile and essential. With AI, the time to set the right course is now.
North Carolina Deploys 2,500 AI-Based Traffic Signals
The signals use AI to collect data and help traffic engineers make decisions and implement changes more quickly and effectively.
The Basics of Artificial Neural Networks: What Urban Planners Should Know
Planetizen AI columnist Tom Sanchez takes us under the hood of the technology that drives many AI tools.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Data-driven algorithms can help planners make more informed decisions, but the technology comes with its own risks of error, misuse, and built-in biases.
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
