EVALUATING GENERATIVE AI MODELS FOR HISTORIC URBAN HERITAGE VISUALIZATION IN SMART CITIES
A Case Study of Al-Mu'izz Street for Smart City Preservation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66838/sauc.6446Abstract
Evaluating generative AI models across five sites, this study investigates historical urban heritage visualization on Cairo’s Al-Mu'izz Street to advance smart city preservation frameworks. Findings demonstrate that Gemini 3.1 Pro achieves superior conservation fidelity (84.9% overall; 4.20/5 in retention and historical reliability), whereas ChatGPT 5.6 Sol excels in visual quality and material expression. Cross-model optimization reveals that ChatGPT-derived instructions paired with Gemini execution yield the highest authenticity (89.8%). Ultimately, integrating structured, AI-assisted prompt workflows into digital twin environments provides urban planners with a scalable, historically reliable mechanism for heritage conservation and urban management.
Downloads
Global Statistics ℹ️
|
45
Views
|
42
Downloads
|
|
87
Total
|
|
References
Abdelalim, M. (2025). Heritage Preservation Using Laser Scanning: Architectural Digital Twins Using Al-Mu’izz Street as a Case Study. Buildings, 15(9), 1480. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15091480
Abdel-Hadi, A., El-Nachar, E., & Safieldin, H. (2009). Pedestrian Street Life in Historic Cairo.
AI in architectural concept design: Reimagining the conflict-affected areas in Syria. (n.d.).
Al-Mu’izz Street – The Heart of Islamic Cairo. (2026, July 7). Monkey’s Tale. https://monkeystale.ca/2026/07/07/al-muizz-street-the-heart-of-islamic-cairo/
Angelidou, M., Karachaliou, E., Angelidou, T., & Stylianidis, E. (2017). CULTURAL HERITAGE IN SMART CITY ENVIRONMENTS. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLII-2/W5, 27–32. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W5-27-2017
Artchitectours. (2025, June 26). Artificial intelligence and heritage conservation ▶ the latest insights. Artchitectours. https://www.artchitectours.com/artificial-intelligence-heritage-conservation/
Borda, A., & Bowen, J. P. (2017). Smart Cities and Cultural Heritage – A Review of Developments and Future Opportunities. Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA 2017). https://doi.org/10.14236/ewic/EVA2017.2
ElKatsha, M. F. (2000). The Evolution Of Al-Azhar Street Al-Qahira, Egypt.
Ghaith, K. (2024). AI Integration in Cultural Heritage Conservation – Ethical Considerations and the Human Imperative. International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.62608/2831-3550.1022
Lee, E.-J., & Park, S.-J. (2025). Generative AI for Biophilic Design in Historic Urban Alleys: Balancing Place Identity and Biophilic Strategies in Urban Regeneration. Land, 14(10), 2085. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102085
Moez Street in Cairo: An Ultimate Local’s Guide. (2024, March 15). https://vanillatravels.net/moez-street-in-cairo/
Mukhamedjanova, S. (2025). The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Architectural Restoration: A Review. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Future Networks and Distributed Systems, 1179–1185. https://doi.org/10.1145/3789692.3789849
Osman, K. A.-A. (2018). Heritage conservation management in Egypt. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 9(4), 2907–2916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2018.10.002
Ran, M., Lin, X., Tian, M., Cong, J., Chen, S., Wang, T., & Jiang, Y. (2025). Generative AI-Based Night Scene Design of Historic Districts: Value Transition from Basic Lighting to Cultural Narrative. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLVIII-M-9–2025, 1273–1280. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-M-9-2025-1273-2025
Sektani, H. H. J., Miran, F. D., & Abdullah, H. K. (2026). AI-Assisted Visualisation of Heritage Conservation Interventions: An Exploratory Study of Community Preferences. Heritage, 9(6), 226. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage9060226
Streets of Islamic Cairo: A configuration of urban themes and patterns. (n.d.).
Tan, X., Xie, H., Xia, C., Ying, Y., Hokoi, S., & Li, Y. (2026). Artificial intelligence in five key phases of architectural heritage conservation: A systematic review. Journal of Building Engineering, 117, 114862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2025.114862
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).
