On November 19, the Department of Geography hosted a distinguished lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence and Future Pathways in Urban Planning” by Professor Michael Batty from University College London, who recently was awarded an honorary doctorate from Hong Kong Baptist University.

Prof. Batty is a leading figure in planning and is renowned for his work on digital models of cities. He has been working on digital city models since the 1970s. His latest book, "The Computable City" (2023), explores the impact of digital technologies on urban development. He co-authored the "Report of the Digital Task Force for Planning" (2022), available at http://www.digital4planning.com/. His contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Founder’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society (2015) and the Gold Medal of the Royal Town Planning Institute (2016).

The lecture drew a large number of audiences from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and other faculties. Prof. Batty discussed the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications in urban planning. He distinguished strong AI, based on rule-based systems, from weak AI, which focuses on pattern recognition from large datasets. He highlighted the increasing complexity of AI with deep learning and digital twin models, which offers advanced methods for urban planning. Prof. Batty emphasized the importance of integrating AI approaches in city planning to develop sustainable and equitable cities. He illustrated how network models can enhance pattern recognition and generation.

After the lecture, Professor Batty engaged with the audience, answering questions and discussing further applications of AI in urban planning.