Computer Vision Applications for Urban Planning: Opportunities and Constraints for Sustainable Urban Development

Abstract

Computer vision (CV) technology, a key subset of artificial intelligence, provides powerful tools for extracting valuable insights from visual data, which is a crucial component for the urban planning process. Despite the promising potential of CV in urban planning, its applications in this context have not been thoroughly examined. This lack of scholarship represents a critical knowledge gap in our understanding of the role of CV in urban planning. This paper aims to provide a consolidated understanding in CV applications in the urban planning process and challenges urban planners face during the adoption of CV. This paper employs a systematic literature review to tackle the questions of how is CV applied in the urban planning process, and what are the challenges in adopting CV methods and tools for the urban planning process? The findings revealed: (a) CV could support a wide range of urban planning tasks including data collection and analysis, issue identification and prioritisation, public participation, plan design and adoption, and implementation and evaluation; (b) CV could improve decision-making through various visual information, but its limitations need to be considered, and; (c) Utilisation of CV for urban planning could support the efforts in sustainable urban development.

Keywords: urban planning process, Computer vision, artificial intelligence, Urban Analytics, technology adoption, Sustainable urban development