GIS for Architecture and Urban Design | Geographic Context for AEC

GIS transforms how architecture and urban design professionals approach designing our cities, campuses, and urban environments.

Using location intelligence, architects and designers can easily integrate geographic information and data into their work. This simplifies decision-making for planners and enriches plans with better visuals and deeper insights.

Functions

Suitability and restrictions
Socioeconomic factors
Community engagement
Scenario assessment

GIS facilitates analysis of spatial data to help planners assess site suitability. It also integrates regulatory frameworks, zoning laws, and environmental restrictions, ensuring sustainable development.

A 3D computer model of a city, with different colored zones (yellow, orange, pink, and blue) and white buildings.

GIS simplifies socioeconomic mapping by incorporating demographic, economic, and social data while ensuring legal compliance by visualizing regulations. This promotes sustainable urban design, resource management, and infrastructure construction.

Map of St. Louis, Missouri, showing red areas of density along a riverfront section of the city

Interactive maps and visual data from GIS enable urban planners, builders, and community members to explore potential impacts of changes and make informed decisions. GIS connects professionals and communities, fostering an inclusive approach to guarantee urban development meets community needs.

A rendering of a city along a waterfront showing flood damage and a proposed building in transparent yellow.

GIS enables urban planners to design and assess multiple solutions by understanding a project’s environmental and site-specific impacts. GIS helps determine which urban development options are feasible, sustainable, and cost-effective. Planners can evaluate, compare, and rank scenarios to make more informed and strategic decisions.

Video

Shaping Cities, Shifting Minds With Urban Design

Creating resilient cities for a growing population requires changing our perceptions and shifting our minds to adapt for the future.

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Architecture and Urban Design

Functions

Shaping Cities, Shifting Minds With Urban Design

AEC business areas

Environmental Management

Design and Engineering

Construction Management

Architecture and Urban Design

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