AI is helping design cities. How should urban planners proceed?

By Cesareo Contreras August 20, 2026

AI is showing up in nearly every aspect of daily life — from internet searches to visits to the doctor’s office. 

It could one day even play a role in the layout of the street in front of your apartment building. 

Urban planners are increasingly exploring the emerging technology for flood prevention and mitigation, generating renderings of future neighborhoods and communications with the public.  

That’s according to a recent Nature review article published by Northeastern professors and Network Science Institute members Esteban Moro and Ryan Wang. 

In their report, Moro, a professor of physics, and Wang, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, analyzed more than 100 studies in the fields of urban science, computational social science and geospatial AI, which integrates artificial intelligence technology with mapping and satellite imagery.

Read more at Northeastern Global News

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