Living with a virtual city

Abstract

Computer models of entire cities are becoming increasingly common. The uses to which these models are put are varied and include the visualisation of proposed changes, the marketing of the facilities a city has to offer, and the mapping of socio-economic data. Developments with the Internet mean that city models can be widely accessed and it is now possible to both construct and view these models on personal computers. This paper discusses some issues relating to the construction and use of large urban models and draws upon the authors' experience of constructing one for the City of Bath.

Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe)

“…(Grant and Paterson 1994). In their article 'Living with a Virtual City', Alan Day, Vassilis Bourdakis and Joe Robson, of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture at the University of Bath, provide an analysis of the construction and application of digital urban models (Day, Bourdakis and Robson 1996). In addition to digital urban modelling techniques the principles of virtual design studios have also informed this project.…”

“…The model was organised in four levels of detail with data links to images and texts on the city and building history. The Bath model has been used by the city's planning authority for development control and public consultation on future city developments (Day et al 1996;Bourdakis and Day 1997).…”

On an Alternative Framework for Building Virtual Cities: Supporting Urban Contextual Modelling on Demand

“…Similarly, ModelCityPhiladelphia developed by Bentley Systems, Inc., and Mike Rosen and Associates, provides 3D VRML models for parts of that city with textures mapped and data links to related websites (http://www.bentley.com/ modelcity/). In the United Kingdom, an example of a citywide model to enable contextual evaluation of new urban design schemes is the Bath Model project created by the Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture at the University of Bath (Day et al, 1996). The aim was to visualise changes in the city and how it was originally constructed.…”

Supporting Imageability on the World Wide Web: Lynch's Five Elements of the City in Community Planning

“…Bath City Council supported this project and, since its completion, the model has been used by the city planners to test the visual impact of a number of proposed developments on the city. The system uses hyperlinks to couple the 3D model to other related databases (Day, 1994;Day et al, 1996).…”