Application of system dynamics, GIS and 3D visualization in a study of residential sustainability

Abstract

Constructing and improving urban residential areas is an eternal critical subject in the process of the whole urban development which is connected with a series of challenges and problems. In this paper, firstly DPSIR (Driving Forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) framework has been employed for better systematizing the indicators on residential sustainability. Due to the urban activities cause impacts not only on local level but also a broader scale, a simulation model, using System Dynamics (SD) methodology, is structured to quantitatively investigate the developmental tendency of the indicators. And then the estimated results were shown in 2D density maps in ArcGIS and 3D visualization in CityEngine. The integration of GIS, SD model and 3D, called GISSD system here, can better explain the interaction and the variation in time of the sustainability indicators for residential development. Hence it's able to support the Decision Maker to view the sustainable level of urban residential areas more comprehensively. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.