Combining 3-D modeling with GIS, so communities can experiment with urban designs and see
quantified environmental and fiscal impacts. (page 3 of 3)

Ascutney, Vermont, like so many rural small towns, is confronted with the dilemma of how to grow. Should they continue with their present zoning that tends to produce sprawl, or should they adopt policies that would encourage the expansion of the existing village center?

Under the direction of ESC, CommunityViz, the next generation of decision support software, has been designed to provide citizen planners of communities like Ascutney with the tools they need for intelligent planning. A project of the Orton Family Foundation, this prototype integrates 2-D mapping information from a GIS platform with fully interactive 3-D visualization, policy simulation and impact analysis modules.

The ESC and the Orton Family Foundation have been working with the citizens of Ascutney to test CommunityViz. The 2-D and 3-D databases have been used to model the demographic profile of the people who would want to live in a compact community, the jobs created, the savings in infrastructure operating costs, and the appearance of an expanded village center.

The 3-D visualizations have helped the citizens of Ascutney fine tune the design of the village center. For example, rejecting the standard practice of uniform lot sizes, the village center lots will vary like the lots of traditional Vermont villages. Skeptical property owners have agreed to actively participate in the next series of planning and design workshops. Although CommunityViz is just a tool, not a solution, the citizens see its potential for reaching consensus on Ascutney's future.

PREVIOUS • NEXT