Home • PRRES Inc. Journal • Read the Journal

Smarter places or deeper exclusion? AI, urban planning and disability discrimination law: a case study using Smart Places in New

Author/s: Megan Taylo, Karena Viglianti-Northway

Date Published: 17/12/2025

Published in: Volume 30 - 2025 Issue 3 (pages 129 - 152)

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often touted as the future of urban planning, promising better urban environments for citizens. In New South Wales (NSW), the State Government’s “Smart Places” initiative reflects this optimism in the use of AI in urban planning. Behind the rhetoric though there is a current regulatory gap on how AI can be used in a way that will not unlawfully discriminate against people with disability (PWD).

 

Our research builds on existing critical literature in urban planning that focuses on the regulatory and socio-ethical concerns of AI in urban governance and smart city making. Drawing from both urban planning and legal perspectives, we adopt a cross-disciplinary approach to the issues clearly identified in this scholarship on the use of AI and corresponding risks of its use to PWD. We use the NSW Government’s approach to Smart Places as a case study to exemplify how currently applicable discrimination laws could be adapted to address some of the concerns set out in the scholarship surrounding inclusivity, transparency and accountability on the use of AI in urban planning. The discussion in this paper is thus specifically intended to build on previous scholarship in its calls to adopt specific measures to mitigate the risks posed by AI to PWD in urban planning, including through legal regulation of the technology.

Download Full Article

Download the Full Article PDF

Smarter-places-or-deeper-exclusion-AI-urban-planning-and-disability-discrimination-law-a-case-study-using-Smart-Places-in-New-South-Wales_Issue-3_129-152.pdf Smarter-places-or-deeper-exclusion-AI-urban-planning-and-disability-discrimination-law-a-case-study-using-Smart-Places-in-New-South-Wales_Issue-3_129-152.pdf (323kB)

Keywords

Accountability - Algorithmic Bias - Artificial Intelligence - Data Bias - Disability Discrimination - Inclusion - Law - Transparency - Urban Planning

References

  • Access For All Alliance (Hervey Bay) Inc v Hervey Bay City Council (2005) EOC 93-372.
  • Allen, D 2010, ‘Remedying discrimination: the limits of the law and the need for a systemic approach’, University of Tasmania Law Review, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 83–110.
  • Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).
  • Artificial Intelligence Strategy, n.d. Digital NSW.
  • Assembly, UNG 2006, ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006’, pp. 7-16, accessed 1 November 2025.
  • Batty, M 2025, ‘AI, design and planning processes’, in Handbook on Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Cities, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 5-14.
  • Bennett-Moses, L 2017, ‘Artificial intelligence in the courts, legal academia and legal practice’, Australian Law Journal, vol. 91, no. 7, pp. 561–574.
  • Bhaghamma, G 2023, ‘A comparative analysis of doctrinal and non-doctrinal legal research’, ILE Journal of Governance and Policy Review, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 88-94.
  • Blackham, A and Temple, J 2020, ‘Intersectional discrimination in Australia: An empirical critique of the legal framework’, University of New South Wales Law Journal, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 773–800.
  • Commonwealth of Australia, Premises Standards: Access Code for Buildings (2010).
  • Dameri, RP 2013, ‘Searching for smart city definition: a comprehensive proposal’, International Journal of Computers & Technology, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 2544-2551.
  • Department of Industry, Science and Resources 2024, Proposals paper for introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings, Australian Government, Canberra.
  • Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010
  • Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).
  • Disability Inclusion Act 2014 (NSW).
  • Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW).
  • Galvin, R 2003, ‘The Paradox of Disability Culture: The need to combine versus the imperative to let go’, Disability & Society, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 675–690.
  • Gichoya, JW, Thomas, KJ, Celi, LA, Safdar, NM, Banerjee, I, Banja, JD, Seyyed-Kalantari, L, Trivedi, H & Purkayastha, S 2023, ‘AI pitfalls and what not to do: mitigating bias in AI’, British Journal of Radiology, vol. 96, no. 1150.
  • Gleeson, B 2001, ‘Disability and the open city’, Urban Studies, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 251-265.
  • Gracias, JS Parnell, GS, Specking, E, Pohl, EA & Buchanan, R 2023, ‘Smart cities — a structured literature review’, Smart Cities, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 1719-1743.
  • Hurst v State of Queensland (2006) 151 FCR 562; (2006) 91 ALD 575; (2006) 235 ALR 53; [2006] FCAFC 100.
  • Imrie, R & Thomas, H 2008, ‘The interrelationships between environment and disability’, Local Environment, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 477-483.
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) Treaty Series 999 UNTS 171.
  • Jackson, MA 2018, ‘Models of disability and human rights: Informing the improvement of built environment accessibility for people with disability at neighborhood scale?’, Laws, vol. 7, no. 1, p.10.
  • Jiricka-Pürrer, A & Stöglehner, G 2025, ‘AI in strategic planning and assessment – a game changer in decision-making or a risk for reproduction of hidden biases?’, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, vol. 43, no. 4, , pp. 319–323.
  • John, J, David Amar Raj, R, Karimi, M, Nazari, R, Yanamala, RMR & Pallakonda, A2025, ‘Artificial Intelligence for Smart Cities: A Comprehensive Review Across Six Pillars and
  • Global Case Studies’, Urban Science, vol. 9, no. 7, p. 249.
  • Hutchinson, T & Duncan, N 2012, ‘Defining and describing what we do: doctrinal legal research’, Deakin Law Review, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 83–119.
  • Kayess, R & Sands, T 2020, ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Shining a light on Social Transformation’, Sydney: UNSW Social Policy Research Centre.
  • Kitchin, R. 1998, ‘'Out of Place', 'Knowing One's Place': Space, power, and the exclusion of disabled people’, Disability & Society, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 343-356.
  • Kitchin, R 2002, ‘Morals and ethics in geographical studies of disability’, in Geography and Ethics, Routledge, pp. 239-252.
  • Krygier, M 2011, ‘Four Puzzles about the Rule of Law: Why, what, where? And who cares?’, NOMOS: American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy, vol. 50, p.64.
  • Larkin, H Hitch, D, Watchorn, V & Ang, S 2015, ‘Working with policy and regulatory factors to implement universal design in the built environment: The Australian experience’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 12,no. 7, pp. 8157–8171.
  • Lartey, D & Law, KM 2025, ‘Artificial intelligence adoption in urban planning governance: A systematic review of advancements in decision-making, and policy making’, Landscape and
  • Urban Planning, vol. 258, p. 105337.
  • Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
  • Makkonen, T & Inkinen, T 2024, ‘Inclusive smart cities? Technology-driven urban development and disabilities’, Cities, vol. 154, p. 105334.
  • Mandatory Ethical Principles for the use of AI, n.d. Digital NSW.
  • Min, A 2023, ‘Artificial Intelligence and bias: Challenges, implications and remedies’, Journal of Social Research, vol. 2, no. 11.
  • Mitchell, TM 1997, ‘Does Machine Learning Really Work?’, The AI Magazine, vol. 18 no. 3, pp. 11–20.
  • Moreno-Ibarra, M, Saldaña-Perez, M, Rodríguez, SM, Carbajal, EJ 2024, ‘Generative AI (GenAI) and smart cities: Efficiency, cohesion, and sustainability’, in Smart cities, Routledge, pp. 118-129.
  • Newman-Griffis, D, Rauchberg, JS, Alharbi, R, Hickman, L & Hochheiser, H 2022, ‘Definition drives design: Disability models and mechanisms of bias in AI technologies’, First Monday, arXiv preprint arXiv: 2206.08287.
  • NSW AI Strategy, n.d. Digital NSW.
  • NSW Artificial Intelligence Assessment Framework, n.d. Digital NSW.
  • NSW Circular DCS-2020-04. NSW Government.
  • NSW Law Reform Commission (2025) Review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW): Consultation paper – Unlawful conduct. Sydney: NSW Law Reform Commission.
  • NSW Smart Public Spaces Guide 2023. NSW Government.
  • Pettit, C, Bakelmun, A, Lieske, SN, Glackin, S, Hargroves, KC, Thomson, G, Shearer, H, Dia,
  • H & Newman, P 2018, ‘Planning support systems for smart cities’, City, Culture and Society, vol. 12, pp. 13–24.
  • People with disability in Australia, catalogue number DIS 72. (2024). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
  • Ramaprasad, A, Sánchez-Ortiz, A & Syn, T 2017, ‘A unified definition of a smart city’, in International Conference on Electronic Government, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 13-24.
  • Ross, T Buliung, R, Titchkosky, T & Hess, P 2024, ‘Engaging disability theory in planning practice’, Journal of Planning Education and Research, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 1946-1955.
  • Ryan (as Personal Representative of the Estate of the Late Ryan) v Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Services [2021] FCCA 1537.
  • Sanchez, TW 2023, ‘Planning on the Verge of AI, or AI on the Verge of Planning’, Urban Science, vol. 7, no. 3, p. 70.
  • Sanchez, TW, Brenman, M & Ye, X 2025, ‘The ethical concerns of artificial intelligence in urban planning’, Journal of the American Planning Association, vol. 91no. 2, pp. 294-307.
  • Shuford, J 2023, ‘Contribution of artificial intelligence in improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities’, Journal of Knowledge Learning and Science Technology, vol. 2 no. 2, pp. 421-433.
  • Smart Places Strategy 2024. Department of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW.
  • Smuha, NA 2021, ‘Beyond the individual: governing AI’s societal harm’, Internet Policy Review, vol. 10, no. 3, accessed 1 November 2025, < https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/beyond-individual-governing-ais-societal-harm>.
  • Son, TH, Weedon, Z, Yigitcanlar, T, Sanchez, T, Corchado, JM & Mehmood, R 2023, ‘Algorithmic urban planning for smart and sustainable development: Systematic review of the literature’, Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 94, p. 104562.
  • Stafford, L, Vanik, L & Bates, LK 2022, ‘Disability justice and urban planning’, Planning Theory & Practice, vol. 23 no. 1, pp. 101-142.
  • Stafford, L, Novacevski, M, Pretorius, R & Rogers, P 2024, ‘The makings of disability-inclusive sustainable communities: Perspectives from Australia’, Urban Governance, vol. 4 no. 2, pp. 113-121.
  • Standards Australia 2021, Design for access and mobility – General requirements for access – New building work, AS 1428.1, Standards Australia.
  • Standards Australia 2022, Information technology – Governance of IT – Governance implications of the use of artificial intelligence by organisations, AS ISO/IEC 38507:2022, Standards Australia.
  • Standards Australia 2023, Information technology – Artificial intelligence – Management system, AS ISO/IEC 42001:2023, Standards Australia.
  • Standards Australia 2023, Information technology – Artificial intelligence – Guidance on risk management, AS ISO/IEC 23894:2023, Standards Australia.
  • State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (NSW).
  • State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (NSW).
  • Terashima, M & Clark, K 2021, ‘The precarious absence of disability perspectives in planning research’, Urban Planning, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 120-132.
  • Thierer, AD, O'Sullivan, AC & Russell, R 2017, ‘Artificial intelligence and public policy’, Mercatus Research Paper.
  • Tiller, EH & Cross, FB 2006, ‘What is legal doctrine?’, Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 100, no. 1, p. 517.
  • Trewin, S, Basson, S, Muller, M, Branham, S, Treviranus, J, Gruen, D, Hebert, D, Lyckowski, N & Manser, E 2019, ‘Considerations for AI fairness for people with disabilities’, AI Matters, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 40–63.
  • van Toorn, G 2024, ‘Inclusion interrupted: Lessons from the making of a digital assistant by and for people with disability’, Government Information Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 1, p. 101900.
  • Wang, CH, Steinfeld, E, Maisel, JL & Kang, B 2021, ‘Is your smart city inclusive? Evaluating proposals from the US Department of Transportation's Smart City Challenge’, Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 74, p. 103148.
  • Watchorn, V, Hitch, D, Grant, C, Tucker, R, Aedy, K, Ang, S & Frawley, P 2021, ‘An integrated literature review of the current discourse around universal design in the built environment – is occupation the missing link?’, Disability and Rehabilitation, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 1-12.
  • White, J & Lidskog, R 2022, 'Ignorance and the regulation of artificial intelligence', Journal of Risk Research, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 488-500.
  • Whittaker, M, Alper, M, Bennett, CL, Hendren, S, Kaziunas, L, Mills, M, Morris, MR, Rankin, J, Rogers, E, Salas, M, West SM 2019, ‘Disability, bias, and AI’, AI Now Institute, vol. 8, no. 11.
  • Wolniak, R & Stecuła, K 2024, ‘Artificial intelligence in smart cities — applications, barriers, and future directions: a review’, Smart Cities, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1346-1389.
  • Xu, H, Omitaomu, F, Sabri, S, Zlatanova, S, Li, X & Song, Y 2024, ‘Leveraging generative AI for urban digital twins: a scoping review on the autonomous generation of urban data, scenarios, designs, and 3D city models for smart city advancement’, Urban Informatics, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 29.
  • Ye, X, Yigitcanlar, T, Goodchild, M, Huang, X, Li, W, Shaw, S-L, Fu, Y, Gong, W & Newman, G 2025, ‘Artificial intelligence in urban science: why does it matter?’, Annals of GIS, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 181-189.
  • Yigitcanlar, T, Desouza, KC, Butler, L & Roozkhosh, F 2020’, ‘Contributions and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in building smarter cities: Insights from a systematic review of the literature’, Energies, vol. 13, no. 6, p. 1473.
  • Zalnieriute, M, Bennett Moses, L & Williams, G 2019, 'The rule of law and automation of government decision‐making', The Modern Law Review, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 425-455.
  • Zhou, S, Loiacono, ET & Kordzadeh, N 2024, ‘Smart cities for people with disabilities: a systematic literature review and future research directions’, European Journal of Information Systems, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 845-862.
  •