How AI is Rewriting Urban Planning in Developing Regions

AI urban development technologies unveiled at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference promise to transform how we understand and plan cities in developing regions.

The innovative technologies — the Open Building Insights (OBI) platform and the Modeling Urban Growth (MUG) AI model — represent a quantum leap in understanding how cities in Africa and India will evolve. By combining satellite imagery, demographic data, and advanced machine learning, these tools offer policymakers unprecedented insights into future infrastructure needs.

“At IBM, we’re proud to launch solutions that harness the power of artificial intelligence to have an impact for communities around the world,” said John Matogo, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader for Africa & the Middle East at IBM. His statement underscores a pivotal moment in technological intervention for sustainable development.

The OBI platform, an interactive online tool, consolidates complex data into an accessible visual map. It integrates models from the German Aerospace Center, Open Energy Maps, and IBM to estimate building heights, electricity consumption, and usage types. In Makueni County, Kenya, these insights are projected to benefit approximately 1.1 million citizens by 2030.

Equally transformative is the Modeling Urban Growth model, an open-source AI tool currently trained on data from eleven African nations. By predicting urban expansion, it enables strategic planning for critical infrastructure like electrification and essential services.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, emphasised the profound potential: “Integrating AI in energy sector planning — especially for developing countries — will go a long way in designing comprehensive solutions for many of the developmental challenges currently facing the Global South.”

Launched in 2022, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator marked the beginning of a pivotal collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All, targeting environmental challenges in vulnerable communities and deploying technology where it can create meaningful social impact.

This collaboration emerges from the programme’s commitment to addressing environmental threats in vulnerable communities. By making these tools publicly accessible, IBM and SEforALL are democratising advanced technological insights.

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