88 to the building, to give a realistic feel of what this will look like,” Lents said. “And we use these things as modes of communication so that other people can see the plans visually intuitively.” “Including the facades means the buildings don’t just look like Lego bricks,” Lawlor added. “Putting in things like trees, benches, and streetlights makes a world of difference.” By angling the perspective, the models can even reveal whether viewsheds are blocked. Other GIS tools simulate the likely effects development will have on the city. “With the out-of-the-box metrics Creating a 3D view of the proposed development helps Sandy Springs planners communicate the proposed changes to the public and the opportunity to developers and businesses. (Screenshot courtesy of Sandy Springs) ArcGIS Urban comes with, we can look at population changes, jobs added, potential power usage—pretty much anything city management and the city council might be interested in,” Lawlor said. An Ongoing Transformation In addition to Crossroads and City Green, departments across the city use GIS technology as a guide, a visualizer, and a communications tool. On the north side of town, developers are overhauling an old strip mall. “We like it when they send us plans that we can just pull into CityEngine, look at what’s there, and overlay the new development,” Lents said. “So, if they wanted to propose
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