Land use planning via computer is not just for gamers anymore. Digital mapping techniques, data sets, and architectual design software allow new communities to be created and modeled on computers prior to building.Digital Land: Integrating Technology into the Land Planning Process
James L. Sipes and Mark S. Lundhult
HD 108.15 .S57 2007
New developments have many stakeholders - government officials, local organizations, existing community members, developers, financial backers, architects, engineers, environmental advisors, and many other types of consultants. This book illustrates how each point of view can be combined using electronic tools to generate a composite picture of the new community, all before a single shovel touches the dirt. Highlighting the geospatial and geophysical data that are available from ESRI, satellite imagery, and other data sources, Sipes and Lundhult suggest that the most inclusive and holistic development processes now include mapping, visualization, imagery and other electronically-assisted methods for understanding communities and places, whether existing or planned. They further demonstrate that computer-aided drafting can assist in making a developer's vision understandable to stakeholders, allowing for greater participation in community growth and planning.
