This Startup Thinks Slime Mold Can Help Us Design Better Cities

Why It Matters

Experts say the method shows promise for bottom-up, adaptive planning but caution it may struggle to overcome political, social and stakeholder barriers to real-world implementation.

Summary

Cambridge startup Mireta has built an algorithm inspired by slime mold’s natural network-building to optimize urban infrastructure—claiming it can improve transit times, reduce congestion and factor in constraints like flood zones, traffic patterns and budgets. The team translated observable slime mold behaviors into rules that reproduce efficient, resilient pathways without using live organisms, and has applied the approach to about five projects since launching this year. Experts say the method shows promise for bottom-up, adaptive planning but caution it may struggle to overcome political, social and stakeholder barriers to real-world implementation.