# 143. 15-Minute Cities Via Urban Design AI

- Show: [The Next Byte Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast)
- Published: 2023-10-10
- Length: 28m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai
- Listen: https://the-next-byte-wevolver.simplecast.com/episodes/143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai-ij41htB5

## Summary

Hosts Daniel and Forbode discuss research from Tsinghua University on using AI to design '15-minute cities' where essential services are accessible within a short walk or bike ride. They explain how deep reinforcement learning and graph neural networks optimize urban layouts far faster than human planners, improving spatial efficiency by 50% and accessibility by 20%. The hosts emphasize that this AI is intended as a collaborative tool for urban planners to handle complex computations, allowing humans to focus on high-level conceptual goals like equity and ecology.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=0) Introduction: The 15-Minute City Concept
- [2:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=174) The Problem with Car-Centric Urban Planning
- [7:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=429) Limitations of Traditional Urban Planning Tools
- [9:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=569) Tsinghua University's AI Solution: Deep Reinforcement Learning
- [14:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=871) Graph Neural Networks and Spatial Efficiency
- [17:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=1059) AI vs. Human Planners: Collaboration, Not Replacement
- [22:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-10-10-143-15-minute-cities-via-urban-design-ai#t=1355) Conclusion: The Future of Collaborative Urban Design

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Tsinghua University (company)
- Mouser Electronics (company)
- Ansys (tool)

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## Citing this page

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