3D City Models for Urban GIS

Raghuveer Jalli
Assistant Manager (GIS)
RMSI Private Limited,
Email: Raghuveer.Jalli@rmsi.com



Due to the increasing availability of information systems and 3D-data, planners and municipalities are focusing on modeling the urban space in 3D. A particular focus is given on the effectiveness of GIS and its related methods for their capacity to accommodate the demands for visual representation of urban environment as well as the basis for analysis and simulation.

In this paper the authors present a framework for 3D-urban-GIS and the concept of digital cities as a social information infrastructure for urban life (including shopping, business, transportation, education etc). The proposed three-layered architecture for digital cities includes:

- City Mapping (integrates both data archives and real-time sensory information)
- Digital City Model (DCM)
- Value added services
-- Surveying
-- Integration of field updates.
These 3D models deliver a true picture of the ground and enable the users to view the locations of services and real places in an intuitive and user-friendly way. These models useful for multifarious applications such as Transportation Management and Planning, Disaster Management and Micro Telecommunication Network Planning.