Knowledge and Reasoning in Development Control and Urban Design: An Expert Systems Approach

Abstract

Expert systems are computer programs that use knowledge and expertise in a particular field to solve complex problems. As such, they are a way of organising, formalising, and disseminating context-specific knowledge and problem-solving techniques. In contrast, planning and urban design seem at different times to have focused exclusively either on substantive knowledge (blueprint planning) or on pure problem-solving method (procedural planning) and design method. Attempts to formalise planning and design method are reviewed and some parallels are proposed in the development of thought between one area of artificial intelligence (AI) research and planning theory. In the final part of the paper there is a discussion of how an expert systems approach, based on techniques developed in the field of artificial intelligence, can be used to investigate the nature of knowledge and expertise in urban design and development control.

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