2023 Proceedings

For over three years, the Design for Community Regeneration (D4CR) team has been piloting a Geodesign model for transformative systems change in Minnesota. This model envisions connecting local to regional planning and bringing the model statewide. Our talk describes recent and next stages of D4CR pilot projects related to findings about geodesign across scales- from statewide SDG hubs, regional interdependent networks, local identity and priorities, and project-based prototypes. Examples of benefits from the cross-sector collaborative network will be shared. 

Long term suitability is rarely considered in street design. To address this issue, this study proposes a framework that incorporate measures of suistainability in rule-based modeling of street design alternatives using CityEngine Complete Streets rule. We adopt GreenLITES suitability criteria and apply them to a proof of concept application that compares four different design scenarios. The results show that this framework can be used to assess street sustainability during the conceptual design phase and can be customized to achieve communities’ sustainability goals.

Although VR is acclaimed as the future, there is no evidence of its benefits over interactive 360-panorama when used in geodesign.  Using a survey-based method, this study finds that, although participants prefer the realism of VR, there is no benefit of VR over 360 when evaluating vibrant street environments. As a result, when selecting tools for visual evaluation of geodesign projects, geodesigners must consider the trade-off between the value of higher realism of VR versus the extra effort, cost and impracticality of using goggles for public participation, versus using 360-panorama.

 At Metabolic Studio we have created an Earth Visualization Studio in a large room with a powerful computer connected to projectors,  tables to place maps on, a light table, and a parallel processing computer,. We have been constructing multi-scalar maps and models of terrestrial systems, visualizing the dynamics of energy and infrastructure in the geography, identifying the reality of our ecologies and our infrastructures as context for design solutions. Our multi-scalar modeling and mapping methods have created a range of scopes for urban and environmental visualization.

The State of Utah is at a crossroads with an explosive population growth rate coupled with a severe drought that is impacting the western U.S.  Our project seeks to create a new town of 50,000 people in a planned growth area within a rural area of Utah County.  Our design proposal is a sustainable, planned community that integrates agriculture, open space and community gardens with residential and commercial uses—an ‘Agrihood’.  Within a collaborative 3D GIS environment, we created a potential model for smart growth in a time of changing climate and a changing tide of migration.

SDGs4Interior uses spatial technology to address the SDGs in design education; this approach to human centered design contrasts with conventional methods of design that fail to engage learners in real community engagement. The paper proposes matrices derived from SDGs, develops various user-experiences through recording geolocated information on the psychogeography experiences for a therapeutic approach to design education that facilitates reconnecting human and natural-ecology. New graduates are better equipped to handle complex environmental challenges while meeting the SDGs.