GIS Based Sustainable Growth Model for South College Station, TX - Video Presentation 2010

GIS based Site Suitability Analysis (Participatory Approach) click to view video presentation

March-September 2010: GIS Based Sustainable Growth Model for South College Station. Work experience with the city of College Station,TX. A video presentation can be viewed on Youtube.

This project has developed a growth model for south College Station area, exploring the viability of incorporating sustainable development concepts in a real world scenario. The methodology involves participatory approach for multi objective decision making with GIS based analytical process. The project uses analytical hierarchy process in map overlays and map algebra for locating community swimming facility; uses vector analysis for incorporating street furniture on bike and pedestrian ways and for finding target areas to implement sustainable energy practices. 

The project recommends strategies for developing the upcoming south College Station area through the defined goals and objectives attributing to the cause of sustainable development in an incremental way, and then using them in a GIS based analysis for practical implications. The goals and objectives in compliance with the comprehensive plan 2009 have made sustainable and cost effective recommendations. The project's is to identify the most favorable site for the allocation of a community swimming facility against many upcoming private pools, addressing the issue of water conservation in the city of College Station. The site suitability analysis based on Analytical Hierarchy Process has been used for this goal using the criteria of land use plans, walkibility to the existing neighborhoods, proximity to the new development areas, access to the main roads and market land values in GIS based modeling. The participatory approach in this analysis has helped achieve unbiased results in the weighted overlay map outputs.

The second goal aims for identifying sites for installing street furniture that will also suffice the need of natural surveillance on streets. The installation is planned in a prioritized manner by conducting GIS based vector analysis for this goal. The installation will take place dispersively in phases for benefiting a larger population in one go than pouring the initial resources in a concentrated area. Recycled materials are recommended to be used for the construction at the least possible cost and solar powered advertisement billboards have also been recommended on some of the street furniture for recovering the cost in the long run.

Conclusion: The GIS based sustainable growth model for the south of College station is a strategy based planning method which focuses on project viability in terms of cost, time and resources. Issues of water conservation, environment, neighborhood safety and aesthetics are tackled by using GIS based modeling with raster and vector calculations. Multi Objective Decision making, using Single Output Map Algebra (SOMA) was used with a participatory approach in evaluating scores by pair wise comparison in the analytical hierarchy process that has brought less biased results in map outputs.

Project Report for GIS based Sustainable Growth Model for south College Station, TX. 2010

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Model Making for Participatory Planning Approach 2008

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While rendering many great planning concepts to reality, we planners have often been unsuccessful in involving people's participation to a great extent. Many great neighborhoods designed have come to reality with failures or success, but without full satisfaction of people actually living there. Introducing ways of encouraging people's participation in planning neighborhoods is very essential for shaping our urban fabric in a way that majority appreciates and enjoys the built environment rather than a few admiring and rest taking the brunt. A lot many efforts have already been made to reach out to peoples preferences through surveys and research but yet what is really missing is, direct participation of people in design process for better satisfactory results. The technology of virtual reality, where a user can interact with computer simulated environment gives a good scope for involving third person's opinion in design. This technology provides visual experiences, displayed either on computer screens or through stereoscopic displays. However these techniques are not easy to avail when large audiences are expected to vote. 

Harrison County comprehensive planning process has explored a simple but yet very effective way of reaching to people's view on designing their neighborhood. A detachable model blocks system is made for the master plan, which can be laid in many ways on model base(Printed master plan) for trying various compositions of layouts in 3D. This allows better visualization for people to see their neighborhood design at a smaller scale in three dimensions and gives them a chance to rethink of what they want. This concept of toy modeling is faster and easy to play with, providing various design options by encouraging public participation. Planners can develop and evolve certain prototypes of design on a master plan based on people's participation by playing with these building toys. The toy building blocks can be given to people to rearrange on a part of master plan and their preferences can be recorded. The most common preferences thus can be included by designers for planning the neighborhoods. This way there will be more choices people can opt for their built environment before it is simply imposed in their neighborhood by planners and decision makers. People's participation will bring better results thus inculcating strong feeling of belonging to the neighborhood as they would have had their roles in designing it.

I had first tried this concept of modeling in a class I took in summer 2008 to explore and understand computer aided design resulting in computer aided manufacturing processes. (figure1&2) 3D models were created to first analyze the best possible detailing for the detachable models and then the model blocks were made with wood, using laser cutter, table saw and hand saw. However I came to know through my professor, Jennifer Evans Cowley a similar modeling system made by Richard McLaughlin in 2004 (Figure3).With her advice, I used the same process to produce the model blocks for Harrison County including all scaled dimensions of commercial, residential and institutional building blocks. A total of 1235 blocks were cut from Pine wood that made one complete model kit for a part of neighborhood. The model Kit was used at the Lyman Elementary School to engage children in thinking about and planning for their community (Figure 4&5). It was also used in a regional planning commissioner training session allowing the planning commissioners to work together to imagine their communities future. The remaking of this model system for Harrison County master plan helped people get a chance to visualize and reform their community spaces as they liked and not simply get restrained to accept what has been drafted by a few people in a Comprehensive plan. We hope this will help develop more interactive design options for communities by encouraging people's participation in many more planning models.

Interior Works 2007

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