Page 44 - GCN, August/September 2018

case study GIS
Boston plans its future
with digital 3D models
Using Esri’s ArcGIS Urban, city planners can easily see the impacts of rezoning and development projects and make adjustments
BY SARA FRIEDMAN
By 2030, the population of Boston is expected to reach 724,000 residents — a 15 per- cent increase. To help city planners pre- pare for that growth, the Boston Plan- ning and Development Agency is using a suite of tools that shows the impacts of rezoning and redevelopment projects.
With Esri’s ArcGIS Urban, BPDA can create 3D models of the city that incor- porate zoning codes and key features such as the amount of shade a tall build- ing casts. BPDA worked with Esri to develop the tool, and it was made avail- able to the public at the Esri User Con- ference in July.
“We’ve experienced a large amount of growth in the past four to five years in the downtown Boston and Dorches- ter Avenue areas with a lot of new de- velopments,” Carolyn Bennett, BPDA’s geospatial data manager, told GCN. “I’ve been working with Esri to help de- sign ArcGIS Urban so we can determine which inputs and indicators are valu- able to us to help us understand the im- pacts of various developments.”
BPDA can use the tool to create 3D models that show what different de- velopments would look like and what impact they would have on traffic, park- ing, school systems and public services. The digital version of the city is easy to change, so planners can experiment
with various rules and regulations to understand their impacts on a given project.
BPDA managers use a Salesforce da- tabase to keep track of all relevant docu- ments during a project’s development, and Bennett said the agency was able to incorporate the Salesforce data into the ArcGIS platform.
Brooks Patrick, an account executive at Esri, said the tool has broad impli- cations for making cities more livable. “One of the most urgent concerns for cities today is ensuring a supply of new housing to meet the demands of grow-
ing populations,” he added. “ArcGIS Ur- ban will offer planners and designers a common environment for sharing what is being planned and what is being built, allowing them to discuss and resolve problems around housing, transporta- tion and economic activity efficiently.”
BPDA’s work with Esri is continuing to evolve as ArcGIS Urban becomes more sophisticated.
“Adding the financial feasibility of different projects is something that we are interested in,” Bennett said, so the company has added it to its list of func- tionality updates. •
44 GCN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 • GCN.COM
PHOTO: ESRI