AI-Generated Images Can Boost Support for Pedestrian Policies
Also today: Sixty injured after passenger train crashes in Buenos Aires, and tax breaks for data centers come under fire.
An AI rendering of what a pedestrian- and bike-friendly street could look like in Austin.
Street View © 2022, Google / Courtesy of Rachit Dubey, Rahul Bhui, Thomas L. Griffiths and Mathew D. Hardy
Efforts to limit cars on some streets and create pedestrian or bike-friendly infrastructure have become polarizing in the US, with support for sustainable transportation policies often falling along party lines. One way to bridge the divide is to help people see what living with fewer vehicles looks and feels like, according to a new study.
Researchers found that showing people AI-generated images of a less car-reliant American city boosted support for a hypothetical policy that called for replacing car lanes with bus lanes, cycle lanes and wider sidewalks. Read more from me today on CityLab: The Images That Boost Support for Sustainable Transportation