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Urban planning has moved online, transforming community engagement into a digital process—but this shift has opened the door to disruption. Automated social media accounts, or bots, now infiltrate forums, surveys and virtual meetings, skewing debates and disrupting development projects.
This book investigates the scale and impact of bot interference in US planning, tracing its roots in digital participation and the early use of AI. Through case studies, theoretical insights and the introduction of an Online Conversion Framework, it offers practical strategies for cities to safeguard democratic planning. It is essential reading for urban planners, policy makers and anyone concerned with technology’s influence on civic life.
Justin B. Hollander is Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning at Tufts University.
Maxwell Hartt is Associate Professor and Director of the Population and Place Research Lab at Queen’s University.
Ruth Potts is Senior Lecturer in Spatial Planning at Cardiff University’s School of Geography and Planning.
1. Introduction
2. History and Theory of Internet-based Participation and AI
3. The Bounds of Bot Infested Online Spaces
4. Where are the Bots?
5. What are Bots doing in Online Spaces?
6. What Impact do Bots have on IRL Spaces?
7. Planners and Bots: A Happy Marriage?
8. Conclusion