ACSP Task Force Releases Final Report on AI in Urban Planning, Co-Chaired and Edited by Dr. Zhong-Ren Peng

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Urban Planning AI Task Force recently released their final report “The Current State and Future of Artificial Intelligence in Planning Education, Research, and Practice”, offering comprehensive recommendations for planning program directors, faculty, researchers and students. Dr. Zhong-Ren Peng, Professor in the University of Florida Department of Urban and Regional Planning served as Co-Chair for the Task Force and Editor of the final report.

“Artificial intelligence is entering planning education and practice faster than our institutions are developing the capacity to evaluate and govern it,” said Dr. Peng. “This report is intended to help the field move from fragmented experimentation to collective leadership, preparing planners who can use AI critically, collaborate across disciplines and ensure that technological innovation advances public purpose, equity and democratic accountability.”

The Task Force on Urban Planning AI is charged with examining the role of AI in planning research and scholarship, and its integration into planning programs’ curricula. Over two years, the Task Force organized various workshops and conducted surveys and reviews of recent AI planning research to formulate their report.

The essential message of the report states that planning should help shape how AI is used, evaluated and governed in education, research, professional practice and urban life. AI is already present across the field, but adoption remains fragmented and collective capacity has not kept pace. The field now needs a coordinated effort to build shared educational resources, strengthen faculty and student capacity, support collaborative research, document and evaluate professional use cases and create practical mechanisms for responsible conduct and accountability.

The Task Force recommends that ACSP establish a continuing Urban Planning AI Committee beginning in 2027 to coordinate three shared initiatives:

1. A Planning AI Competency Framework and Open Resource Clearinghouse
   
2. An ACSP AI Institute and Research Collaborative
   
3. A Joint ACSP–APA Practice, Conduct, and Accountability Partnership
   

The report recommends a selective approach to AI grounded in evidence, public purpose and accountability. Planning institutions should use AI where credible evidence indicates that it can improve planning capacity or outcomes, decline uses that conflict with public and professional obligations and remain prepared to modify or discontinue applications as evidence and conditions change.

Read the full report: https://www.acsp.org/page/AITaskForce