256 DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE CITIES
Figure 12.11 Conceptual view of the 3D spatial reference framework
Geospatial info
Physical assets
Social assets
Regeneration projects
Area selection
Object query
Fly-through and walk-through navigation
3D visualisation
Canals and waterways of Wolverhampton
Tower Street – masterplanning process
Brierley Hill and Merry Hill
Dudley underground canals and mines
Income
Ethnic group
Unemployed
Crime
Canal system
Commercial service
Public infrastructure
Education and health
Boundaries
Layout of buildings on selected area
Terrain view (geometry + aerial images)
3D spatial reference framework
Required functions
Consensus building
Functional requirements and conceptual view of the collaborative consensus building space The requirements for creating a collaborative consensus building space for urban planning can be diverse and project-specific. However, in order to ensure that the key functional requirements for such a virtual space were captured thoroughly, several meetings with the key stakeholders involved in the Black Country regeneration were organised around a research prototype to demonstrate the concept. In addition, four strategic regeneration projects were considered in capturing project-specific requirements. The entire IT development work was conducted by establishing a partnership between the University of Salford, the Black Country Consortium and Ordnance Survey. The key functional requirements identified with the Black Country Consortium and their key stakeholders, for creating the initial collaborative consensus building space, were as follows (Figure 12.11):
• an ability to visualise the entire Black Country landscape with accurate terrain and building forms • representation of all the regional assets that could be used to build future strategies • demographic data to provide understanding of the social challenges and diversity in the region • an ability to incorporate current and future regeneration projects • visualisation, navigation, and an ability to query objects and other data during meetings. Figure 12.11 shows a conceptual view of the 3D spatial reference framework that was developed to support the requirements of the Black Country regeneration project. The overall framework comprises categories of data (geospatial, demographic, physical assets and regeneration projects) and a set of interaction functions. • Geographic information. In this data category, information such as the terrain of the Black Country, high-definition aerial photographs of the terrain, 2.5D representation of the buildings