AI-generated rendering of a car-free Georgetown by Zach Katz via DALL-E, using Google base photo used with permission.

What would Georgetown’s M Street look like if, instead of six lanes of car-dominated asphalt, it were covered by brick paths, flower beds, friendly fountains, and zero cars at all? It turns out artificial intelligence can show us.

Using an AI called DALL-E, artist Zach Katz has worked out a method to turn photos of real-life car-dominated streets into pedestrianized nirvanas, with amazingly cool results. Observe:

The renderings aren’t as precise as the kind of expensive and time-consuming creations typically included in government plans. Zach can’t specify that a bike lane be exactly 10 feet wide, or that a flower pot sit exactly six inches from the sidewalk. But he can make these renderings in only a few minutes each, needing only a good base photo, a thoughtful description, and some AI computing power.

It’s a remarkable step forward in being able to visualize what a street transformation might look like, at least in general.

Zach’s Twitter account for the project, @betterstreetsai, rocketed from zero to over 10,000 followers in the span of ten days, as he produced image after image showing street transformations all over North America.

You can play with the free version

To modify an existing photo of a real street, Zach is paying for the professional version of DALL-E. At the moment the pro version is not accepting new users, but you can send Zach a request or a donation on his buymeacoffee.com page.

If you want to play yourself, there’s a free version of the AI, DALL-E Mini, that’s nearly as powerful. It doesn’t allow you to set a base photo of a real street, but you can use it to produce AI-rendered images based on written prompts. Type in something like “tramway in a street” and the AI creates a series of images of that thing:

AI-generated renderings of a tram in a street, by the author.

Add more detail to your prompt, and get more detailed images:

AI-generated renderings of a modern tram in a street with glassy buildings, crowded with bicyclists, by the author.

What can you come up with?

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.