AI-enabled urbanism

In the latest episode of Neighborhood Matters, I talk with Kyle Vansice, founder of Cedar, an Austin-based startup that uses AI to help builders figure out what they can build on a given piece of land.

This AI use case is particularly compelling in Austin, where the complexity of the land development code often discourages builders from building the types of lower-cost housing that is in such short supply. Sure, HOME made it legal to build three units on a lot, but there are still thousands of pages of regulations that can still make it very hard and expensive to do that.

But beyond the technology (which I have never used and cannot personally vouch for) I had a great conversation with Kyle, who lives downtown with his wife and infant son, about a number of subjects:

• Why I'm an OLD urbanist, not a new urbanist
• The pros and cons of raising kids in urban environments
• The stupidity and pointlessness of the I-35 expansion
• What will autonomous driving mean for cities?
• Are we gonna let our kids run as free as we did?
• The AI stuff that we hate & why I reject a lot of AI hype

Watch below on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.