James Hathaway, CommunityViz Marketing Coordinator
Pete Young, CommunityViz User Coordinator for the Eastern U.S.
The Orton Family Foundation
128 Merchants Row, 2nd Floor
Rutland, VT 05701

Visualizing Your Community: Using the CommunityVizTM suite of software with ArcView

Panel Format: Several northeastern communities will present community planning projects that were recently undertaken using the CommunityVizTM suite of software. These communities are currently participating in a limited release of CommunityVizTM that is intended to provide a library of project case studies.

Scenario Planning: CommunityVizTM tailors ArcView GIS for scenario planning and impact analysis. The CommunityVizTM Scenario Constructor module offers tools, such as automated indicators and constraints, that provide the basis for real-time comparison of alternative project proposals and make it possible to answer multiple "what if" questions in a public setting.

Policy Modeling: At the core of the planning process, communities devise and implement policies that are intended to further publicly defined goals. But, often it is far from certain whether or not a given policy will bring about intended results. The CommunityVizTM Policy Simulator module makes it possible to simulate the outcomes of various types of policies in communities with under 25,000 people using an innovative agent-based modeling approach.

3D Visualization: The CommunityVizTM Townbuilder 3D module makes it possible to create three-dimensional landscapes that viewers can virtually fly or walk through by simply pointing the mouse. This 3D modeling tool allows communities to evaluate the visual impact of zoning rules or specific development proposals. CommunityVizTM 3D landscapes are made by draping geo-rectified imagery over an elevation terrain model (GRID or TIN) and then placing feature models, such as buildings and trees, on top.