Optimising a Virtual 3D City Model for Citizen-Based Urban Development in East Jerusalem

Abstract

This contribution presents the use of a newly developed approach for the generation and modelling of spatially referenced, multidimensional virtual city models from remote sensing data, exemplified by the case of East Jerusalem. The focus is on the effective application of the entire process from data acquisition, pre-processing and management to spatial analysis and applications. Using East Jerusalem as a study area, the contribution demonstrates how high-resolution stereo aerial imagery and semantic data from various sources can be integrated to form a fully referenced virtual multidimensional spatial model. The resulting digital city model offers user-specific functions for spatial exploration. It thus facilitates a range of applications in the context of urban planning, community development, decision-making as well as, e.g., education or tourism. The work presented shows that a common database must be established, consolidated, and maintained prior to the appropriate use of these models. The modular design of interchangeable components for individual functionalities, workflow segments and applications, along with effective presentation capabilities, are crucial factors to provide ease of use for the user as well as straightforward communication. Practical use cases of the approach discussed are the integration of data on health and education infrastructure, wastewater, and waste management, as well as transport infrastructure and usage, coupled with socio-demographic and socio-economic indicators. These cases demonstrate the scope and, at the same time, hint at the built-in generic capabilities allowing to transfer the methodology to different fields of applications. In summary, the approach presented here allows for the generation of diverse virtual city models which in many regional and thematic contexts constitute an appropriate starting point for sustainable and efficient urban development. It can be shown that the range of use cases can easily be extended to accommodate for new applications and different regional settings. The presentation highlights some methodical, technological, and content limitations that had to be overcome to adequately build, visualise and utilise 3D virtual city models to help foster sustainable and efficient urban development.