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As a tool serving other disciplines of enquiry, artificial intelligence (AI) offers the potential of a potent discovery, a design and analysis paradigm to address (new) questions in urban planning. This thematic issue raises a forum for cross-disciplinary dialogues at the intersection of urban planning and AI. Nine articles discuss both emerging use cases in urban planning practice and the relevant AI techniques being used and developed, as well as articulate the challenges associated. Future development of AI in urban planning shall address the ethical, inclusive, and just implications of AI applications for urban planning while navigating human and AI agents’ interactions and intra-actions to facilitate a better understanding of the intentions of AI development and use, and the impacts on the behaviour of designers and users in complex urban planning practices.

Provided that, if made in a sustainable way, urban planning contributes to urban sustainability and to the welfare of urban populations, comparative applied planning studies have a societal relevance in addition to the scientific one. Nevertheless, while theoretical urban studies, including those comparative, are relatively well represented, there is a scarcity of comparative studies based on planning practices. Our study fills in this gap comparing Bucharest (Romania) and Chisinau (Moldova) by their experience in planning for the green infrastructure using geospatial technologies and data-driven approaches. The methodology integrates data-based comparisons between the two cities (wherever possible) and qualitative approaches. The results of the comparison indicate that in Bucharest, a proposal for a green infrastructure network could be drafted, provided the availability of scientific results from several projects and institutions. However, a similar proposal could not be drafted for Chisinau due to lacking data. The comparison sustains the initial goal, demonstrating the usefulness of using data and scientific results in planning. At the same time, the results show that countries that share many things can have different approaches to planning. Our study opens new avenues for future research, including the extension to different topics and more diverse countries compared.

The present study provides a reflection on the agent-based intelligence of urban spatial environments through the comparison of a formal quantitative approach, i.e., space syntax, and a qualitative experimentation based on the spatial cognition approach. Until recently, space syntax was adopted by urban planners and designers to support urban design and planning decisions, based on an analysis of the urban physical environment. Researchers in the cognitive science field have increased their attempts to address space syntax techniques to better understand the relationships of cognitive spatial agents with the spatial features of urban environments. In this context, the experimental approach focuses on the qualities of the environment as interacted, perceived and interpreted by cognitive agents and reflects on the role which it plays in affecting spatial decisions and route choices. The present paper aimed to explore the extent to which possible integration between the different approaches can provide insights on agent-based decisions in actions and behavioural processes in space for useful perspectives in urban analysis and planning. Findings suggest relevant correlations between the experimentation results and space syntax predictions when a correspondence of some aspects can be found. Conversely, interesting qualitative insights from the spatial cognition approach are pointed out to enrich the configurational analysis. The potential and constraints of each approach and the ways of combining these are presented. Evidence supports the suitability of the proposal outlined in the present paper within the framework of urban planning practice.

In Europe, growing concerns about social segregation and social stability have pushed calls to make cities ‘inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’ higher on policy agendas. However, how to approach such generic policy objectives and operationalise them for planning practices is still largely unclear. This article makes a conceptual contribution to the operational understanding of social sustainability in urban planning practices. The article argues that, between theoretical concept and operational forms, different evaluative approaches towards social sustainability may be taken. Evaluating three dimensions of policy operationalisations in The Netherlands, we argue that Amartya Sen’s capability approach provides a promising conceptual framework for operationalising social sustainability in cities in Europe and beyond. We compare capabilities with a more commonly applied resource-based conception to show that the former is more accurate and potentially more effective, because it shifts the evaluative space of social sustainability from means (i.e., urban resources) to ends: the eventual well-being of urban citizens.

This article explores the potential and limitations of integrated urban planning (IUP)—a key concept in the spatial planning paradigm of the European Union (EU)—in the context of democratic backsliding in contemporary Hungary. Following the country’s democratic transition from 1989/1990, which included the establishment of local governments with extensive mandates, among others, in urban planning, IUP emerged as a planning paradigm related to Hungary’s EU accession in 2004. However, since 2010, significant democratic backsliding, including a decrease in local autonomy, has affected urban planning in Hungary. This article reveals how trends associated with democratic backsliding challenge the principles of IUP and, drawing on a survey and semi‐structured interviews with urban planning practitioners, explores their impact on IUP in practice. The analysis identifies key factors influencing the implementation of IUP principles in this context, including reduced local political and economic autonomy, inadequate local government funding, the rise of individual bargaining in urban development, and non‐negotiated top‐down project allocation. While the findings are based on empirical evidence from Hungary, they may provide valuable insights into identifying risk factors concerning IUP in other contexts as well.

The current awareness of the high importance of urban green leads to a stronger need for tools to comprehensively represent urban green and its benefits. A common scientific approach is the development of urban ecosystem services (UES) based on remote sensing methods at the city or district level. Urban planning, however, requires fine-grained data that match local management practices. Hence, this study linked local biotope and tree mapping methods to the concept of ecosystem services. The methodology was tested in an inner-city district in SW Germany, comparing publicly accessible areas and non-accessible courtyards. The results provide area-specific [m2] information on the green inventory at the microscale, whereas derived stock and UES indicators form the basis for comparative analyses regarding climate adaptation and biodiversity. In the case study, there are ten times more micro-scale green spaces in private courtyards than in the public space, as well as twice as many trees. The approach transfers a scientific concept into municipal planning practice, enables the quantitative assessment of urban green at the microscale and illustrates the importance for green stock data in private areas to enhance decision support in urban development. Different aspects concerning data collection and data availability are critically discussed.

Ecological considerations should be an integral part of the decision-making processes of urban planners. Specifically, ecological aspects used in urban ecology, such as green infrastructure and ecosystem services, are substantiated by literature as strategies for improving quality of life, human health, and well-being. Studies dealing with such concepts in the Global South recently gained interest; however, these lack empirical evidence on the integration thereof in mainstream South African urban planning practice. This article conducts a preliminary investigation into the knowledge of ecological aspects of a sample of South African urban planners and their willingness to implement ecological aspects in urban planning practice. The new environmental paradigm scale is employed to determine the environmental worldview (ecocentric or anthropocentric) among respondent and how this relates to their knowledge of ecological aspects. The initial research sample consisted of a total of 283 questionnaires distributed. Although findings of this article are based on a low response rate (15%) of 42 documented responses, it did not affect the validity of the data collected in this context. The initial findings indicated that the environmental worldview of the sample of planners is only one factor influencing their perspective on incorporating ecological considerations. Low to moderate knowledge and awareness regarding ecological aspects such as ecosystem services, green infrastructure, and multi-functionality are argued to be main factors preventing integration in urban planning practice. Findings emphasize the need for context-based implementation strategies and broad recommendations are made for the planning profession as a point of departure to introduce or ingrain ecological considerations.

This paper interrogates the actuality of 'ruang terbuka hijau kota'(urban green open space - UGOS) in Denpasar Bali. This debate is critical because it is directly linked to two conditions. First, is an ever increasing population, and second, is a diminishing public realm. While the social, economic, and environmental significances of the UGOS in the formation of a liveable city is widely acknowledged, both conditions, in reality, do not go in line with the importance of UGOS to urban living. The paper argues that while UGOS are legitimated by the existing urban planning procedures and reflected in spatial planning, there is no policy directive on securing the deliverance of sustainable UGOS that guarantee the public interest. The following study is supported by relevant case studies that illustrate and demonstrate the above claims, predominantly across Denpasar, the capital city of both Bali Province and Denpasar city. The conclusion to the paper becomes increasingly self-evident as it progresses. It is clear that having new categories of land use will accomplish nothing. Similarly the key is not to re-designate land uses or manipulate existing codes, but to reconstitute how the planning system itself functions in relation to a sustainable public realm and environmental justice.

The concept of sustainability has been widely adopted in urban planning practice and theory. The social dimension of sustainability (SDS) remains the most underdeveloped and overlooked dimension of sustainability, both conceptually and practically, though social aspects of sustainability offer great potential to address urban social problems. This article reports on findings from research involving case studies of neighborhood-scale sustainability planning projects in Portland, Oregon; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Nagoya, Japan to describe the ways in which the SDS has been conceptualized and implemented in recent planning practice. The social determinants of health (SDH) framework is applied to these conceptualizations to identify the utility of this framework in further developing the SDS. Findings suggest commonalities across contexts and differences in their emphasis on structural and contextual determinants. This SDH framework contributes structure to theory on the SDS and provides a useful tool for planners to address complex urban social problems through neighborhood-scale sustainability planning practice.