A city modelled according to planning regulations usually presents a correlation between plots and building dimensions.To simulate the overall impact of building regulations over a large number of plots it is advantageous to use a computational tool to perform the task. Existing software can generate proxies of the would be reality, but do not accurately simulate the impact of alternative urban regulations. CityZoom is a Decision Support System for urban planning which not only provides CAD tools, but also allows users to evaluate and modify the city model according to different constraints such as solar radiation, luminance, terrain's pervious conditions, etc. . By simulating specific urban regulations and addressing environmental comfort issues, CityZoom helps architects to simultaneously evaluate the different attributes of a particular design. Coupled with GIS tools, CityZoom allows users to perform multiple analyses over the existing database and use the resultant feedback to optimize proposed solutions. Future developments envisage giving CityZoom a more autonomous role, using artificial intelligence to optimize building shapes and dimensions.

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In the last twenty years, computer tools have progressively enabled the modeling of buildings and cities in lesser time and cost, along with an increase in the results quality. A city modeled according to planning regulations usually present a correlation between plots and buildings dimensions. The representation of such correlation for a large number of plots requires repetitive work, thus suggesting the use of a computational tool to perform the task. Existing CAD, GIS, and VR software can generate accurate representations of the reality, but have no capabilities to simulate the impact of alternative urban regulations for large number of plots in a short period of time. CityZoom is a Decision Support System for urban planning, with a specific builtin city model, where data is represented in an object-oriented model representing the urban structure. CityZoom not only provide CAD tools, but a shell where different performance models can operate iteratively. It can simulate given urban regulations applied to a set of urban plots, as well as address environmental comfort issues such as shadow casting between buildings. Results can be displayed as tables, graphs, and in a 3D preview of the whole city or part of it. It's also possible to export them to commercial GIS tools, to perform different data analysis. The graphical outputs make for an easy understanding of the results by laymen, an important feature for participatory planning, while the display of the correspondent numerical data enable correlations with indicators and parameters of urban quality.