Priya's Thursday, Two Ways

Priya, a city planner working on a downtown zoning update and a transit corridor plan.

Priya starts Thursday with a thick development proposal for a mixed-use building near the transit center. She opens Claude and uses the reviewing proposals prompt: 'Summarize this application into project description, consistency with the downtown plan, and possible conditions. List missing items.' She checks the summary against the zoning code and adds notes about parking and tree canopy.

Next, she faces a long spreadsheet of public comments from an open house. In ChatGPT, she uses the community engagement prompt: 'Group these comments into themes about height, parking, trees, and affordability. Include two short quotes for each theme, without names.' She reads the quotes, removes one that could identify a speaker, and adds context from her own notes.

After lunch, Priya needs a plain-English explainer for residents about proposed zoning changes. She asks Gemini with the public explanation prompt: 'Explain these three zoning rules at an eighth-grade reading level. Use a short example for each. Avoid jargon.' She edits the examples for her neighborhood and sends the draft to her supervisor.

She also uses the land use data prompt to turn permit numbers into a simple trend table for the planning commission. With the time she saves, Priya walks the site, calls a neighborhood leader, and leaves on time for her daughter's soccer practice.