Description
What does the future look like? Planners wrestle with this question daily as they strive to bring a community's vision of itself to life, in all its complexity. Here is an authoritative and accessible guide to a tool that combines 3-D visualization, data analysis and scenario building to let planners and citizens "see" the future impacts of a plan or development.
The Planners Guide to CommunityViz is the first book to explain how to support planning projects with CommunityViz, GIS-based software that planners around the world are using to help decision-makers, professionals, and the public visualize, analyze, and communicate about development proposals, future growth patterns, and the outcome of particular plans or developments. It shows the planner which tools and techniques to use and how to use them for maximum effectiveness on planning projects large and small.
Full of practical examples and case studies, the book shows how CommunityViz can enliven the comprehensive planning process-from visioning, to public participation, to values mapping, to build-out analysis. Chapters show how to use CommunityViz to analyze zoning regulations, calculate the costs of community services, and evaluate development proposals requiring design review. In addition, it is applicable to transportation planning, natural-resource planning, land-development suitability assessment, and urban economic development analysis.
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Reviews
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"GIS is more than maps-it's also sketching, modeling, analysis, visualization, and with the help of the CommunityViz extension, an ideal tool for community planning and citizen engagement. This book vividly demonstrates the multi-purpose, multi-layered nature of the technology. As a result, CommunityViz is changing the way planners use GIS. With its transparent and flexible design, CommunityViz opens up the planning process to more people. At the same time, it takes a lot of guesswork, speculation, and pure subjectivity out of the planning equation."
-Jack Dangermond
President, Esri
"I've been waiting for this book for years and it's all I hoped it would be. The Planners Guide to CommunityViz makes it clear that CommunityViz is not just planning software, but a well-aligned vision of planning supported with tools, processes, techniques and even caveats. This will be the cornerstone documentation for GIS-based planning decision support for years to come."
-Scott N. Lieske, PhD
University of Wyoming
"CommunityViz emerges as a mature tool with unmatched flexibility to construct and test robust scenarios at multiple scales in planning for sustainability. Along the way this engaging book also serves as a practical and straightforward primer on community planning."
-Uri Avin, FAICP
Regional Growth Management Leader
Parsons Brinckerhoff
"When communities and organizations want a tool that is easy to use, affordable, and informative, we recommend CommunityViz. Its flexibility, transparency, and robust modeling make it a tool we turn to in our mission to create vibrant, sustainable communities through informed and equitable decision-making."
-Ken Snyder
President/CEO
PlaceMatters
"For regional planners who are serious about engaging the public in the tough work of scenario analysis, CommunityViz is a critical tool. This book tells our story and offers many other concrete examples of how CommunityViz can support thoughtful, comprehensive deliberation."
-Holly St. Clair
Director of Data Services
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
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