urbanAPI

Interactive visualisation of urban policy consequences

Objective

The urbanAPI project aimed to support policy analysis, decision making and evaluation processes in urban planning and land management policy.

Project description

The urbanAPI-developed toolset allows fast development and deployment of participative policy support applications. These applications, which rely on innovative interaction platforms, can be used for decision support, conflict management, analysis and visualisation.

Three tools were developed and applied in Bologna, Vienna and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The project team developed a 3D-scenario creator, a motion explorer that makes use of geospatial tracking of mobile phone data, and an interactive urban growth simulation that includes a citizen preference survey for help in understanding the large-scale consequences of urban planning decisions.

Based on this toolset, adapted urban planning applications have been created, deployed, evaluated and used that will support policy makers, planners and stakeholders at different governance and spatial levels — from urban enclaves to the regional level.

Main conclusions/outcomes/achievements

• 3 geospatial tools for planning participation and participatory sensing:
• a 3D scenario creator;
• a motion explorer that uses mobile phone data; and
• an urban growth simulation, including a citizen preference survey.
• Successful tool implementation and testing in Bologna (IT), Vienna (AT) and Ruse (BUL).
• Planners regularly use these tools, as they provide citizen preferences and behaviour information that facilitates improved planning.

Funder

Forschungsrahmenprogramm 7 der Europäischen Kommission (FP7)