Artificial intelligence solutions for urban land dynamics: A review

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are widely accepted as a technology offering an alternative way to tackle complex and dynamic problems in urban studies. The goal of this article is a review of current literature in the field of planning and AI. The aim of this review is to increase the understanding of how AI approaches urban and land dynamics modeling processes and how, as a result, researchers can structure that knowledge and choose the correct approaches to embed in their models. For this purpose, the authors review the applications of AI techniques in urban land dynamics domain as well as the emerging challenges they face. The authors discuss hybrid AI systems as a need resulting from the trend in planning policy to develop more holistic approaches. The authors conclude that, although challenges exist, AI-based approaches offer promising solutions for urban and land dynamics. © The Author(s) 2010