From Cyberpunk Barcelona to Neo Tokyo: 20 AI-Generated Cities You Have to See

Chris Steins
5 min readMar 14

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An AI-generated image of several tall residential apartment buildings covered in green plants, arranged around a walking path with grass and green trees, with the sun shining down on the buildings.
“Green City,” created by UnikoVB using Midjourney.

These AI-inspired images of cities are created using NightCafe and MidJourney, two popular services that use artificial intelligence (AI) to create images from text descriptions.

An AI image generation service creates images using a machine learning technique called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). To create images of cities, the AI is trained on images of cities, and then it can generate new images of a future city based on a prompt — a set of words or phrases provided by the image creator. The AI algorithm uses a feedback loop to improve the images it produces, making them increasingly realistic.

NYC Reimagined

Created by Enlightenment using NightCafe in a daily challenge with the prompt, “Major Cities Reimagined.”

“NYC” by @Enlightenment, in the Major Cities Reimagined competition on NightCafe.
NYC Reimagined, Created by Enlightenment

Cyberpunk 2

Created by 이명박 using Midjourney based on a seed image of Seoul’s skyline.

Cyberpunk 2, created by 이명박

Genetically-modified Mountain Ecosystems

Created by dcb1952 using Midjourney with the prompt, “In the year 2200, advancements in genetic engineering allowed scientists to create towering, genetically — modified mountain ecosystems. Create an image of a futuristic mountain range filled with towering trees and lush vegetation, towering high above the clouds.”

Genetically-modified Mountain Ecosystems, created by dcb1952

Cyberpunk Barcelona

Created by CdQ using Midjourney, with the prompt, “Cyberpunk city landscape of Barcelona, Chinese and Cyrillic neon signs, dark morning, cloudy.”

Cyberpunk Barcelona, Created by CdQ

Neo Tokyo

Created by EricEck using Midjourney with the prompt, “A huge Arcology High-tech architecture megastructure in a cyberpunk landscape of Neo Tokyo by the bay in winter. Highly detailed. Hypermodernism.”

Neo Tokyo, created by EricEck

Stockholm City 17

Created by PyzzlarN using Midjourney based on a seed image of a Stockholm Metro train between Gamla Stan and Slussen stations.

Stockholm City 17, created by PyzzlarN

Utopia City

Created by fights4users using MidJourney.

Utopia City, created by fights4users

Cypberpunk City

Created by flowermid using Midjourney.

Cypberpunk City, created by flowermid

Futuristic Cityscape

Created by Bryan_Price using NightCafe.

Futuristic Cityscape, Created by Bryan_Price

Kyivs’ka oblast High-Tech City

Created by Illia P using Midjourney using seed images from Brovary, Kyivs’ka oblast, Ukraine.

Futuristic High-Tech City, created by Illia P

Learning From Our Mistakes

Created by MageHeart7 using NightCafe in response to a daily challenge, “The Year 2050.”

Learning From Our Mistakes, created by MageHeart7

Futuristic City with Holographic Billboards

Created by Kimmi using Midjourney using the prompt, “Photograph of city, futuristic, holographic billboards, cyberpunk, foggy, photorealistic.”

Futuristic City with Holographic Billboards, created by Kimmi

A City For Plant Lovers

Created by Other w0rld expl0rer using NightCafe in response to a daily challenge, “Major Cities Reimagined.”

A City For Plant Lovers, created by Other w0rld expl0rer

Nature Coexists with Human Civilization

Created by Momsuca using Midjourney with the prompt, “hyper realistic futuristic city, sustainable, futuristic technology and nature coexist in harmony with the human civilization, organic shape buildings.”

Nature Coexists with Human Civilization, created by Momsuca

The Future of Tokyo

Created by Ramona using NightCafe in response to a daily challenge, “Major Cities Reimagined.”

The Future of Tokyo, created by Ramona

Prague Nightlife

Created by tigram1504 using Midjourney using a seed image of Prague’s Dancing House.

Nightlife, created by tigram1504

AI-Powered Metropolis

Created by razm967 using Midjourney with the prompt, “A futuristic cityscape, depicting a metropolis powered by AI technology.”

AI-Powered Metropolis, created by razm967

Sky Walkways

Created by TheBuilder using Midjourney using seed images from Singapore’s eco-friendly hotel, The Parkroyal on Pickering, and Avenue du Mont-Royal au coin Avenue du parc in Montreal, QC, Canada.

Sky Walkways, created by TheBuilder

Porto City

Created by Seb Morgan using Midjourney using a seed image of Clerigos Church and Tower in Porto, Portugal.

Porto City, created by Seb Morgan

Future Street Market

Created by tdraw_ai_art on NightCafe. The author blogs at tdraw.art.

Future Street Market, created by tdraw_ai_art

As AI continues to evolve, you have to wonder how AI will impact how we imagine and design cities. If AI becomes capable of predicting the future evolution of cities, and the Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) that created these images become more sophisticated, we may see AI-generated images that accurately predict how a city will look and function in the future. It’s not crazy to imagine a time when architects and urban planners use AI-generated images to test new ideas and designs for cities, providing a way to explore possibilities and optimize plans before breaking ground.

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Chris Steins

I write about technology, travel, artificial intelligence, wine, small business entrepreneurship, or really, anything that happens to interest me at the moment.