When Munich's citizens were invited to reimagine one of their main streets using AI, the results didn't just sit in a presentation deck—they were actually built. Damiano Cerrone, founder of Urbanist AI and Co-Plan AI, has worked with over 80 organisations worldwide to transform how cities engage with their residents. Instead of traditional surveys asking "what do you want?", his platforms let people visualise, evaluate, and iterate on urban design ideas in real-time. The twist? Damiano argues AI models should be biased—tuned to each participant's perspective—because that's what makes collaboration meaningful. From training Eastern European mayors to test policies with generative AI, to working with the UN Development Programme and Dubai's Prime Minister's office, he's pioneering what he calls "collaborative public governance." The challenge ahead: making European city centres attractive to humans again after decades of infrastructure-led dehumanisation.
Guest: Damiano Cerrone
Company: Urbanist AI & Co-Plan AI
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Key Topics Discussed
[02:02] Munich's streets transformed
How a citizens' engagement process during a festival led to an AI-imagined green space and water feature being built as a prototype on one of Munich's main streets.
[03:29] Training mayors in Eastern Europe
Working with the UN Development Programme to help mayors use generative AI to evaluate and test their own policies—compressing months of work into rapid visualisation cycles.
[05:33] The collaboration vs. replacement question
Why cities are asking "why engage people when we can simulate engagement with AI agents?"—and Damiano's response: treating AI as a billion colleagues, not a billion replacements.
[08:37] When what people want is wrong
How AI enables people to evaluate their own ideas by seeing them visualised, leading to minds being changed through the process itself rather than being told "no" by experts.
[16:38] Embracing bias in AI models
Damiano's contrarian stance: models should be tuned to individual participants' biases because that's what creates interesting, fruitful conversations—not sterile consensus.
[18:13] The mega-trend for European cities
Why attracting human beings back to dehumanised city centres is the biggest urban challenge ahead, following the post-COVID exodus.
Resources Mentioned
- Urbanist AI: site.urbanistai.com
- CityLab Berlin: Monthly neighbourhood engagement programme (Kids Lab)
- Futureville (RTÉ): Irish television series imagining Athlone in 2050
- Connect with Damiano: LinkedIn
For Built Environment Professionals
Damiano's work demonstrates how participatory AI can close the gap between consultation and implementation—particularly relevant for architecture practices, engineering consultancies, and planning departments struggling with meaningful stakeholder engagement. His platforms have been adopted by governments worldwide, proving that citizen-generated spatial ideas can move from digital visualisation to physical intervention.
Chatting GPT is produced by AI Institute. If you're interested in AI adoption for built environment firms, visit https://weareaiinstitute.com/
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