Data-driven planning support system for a campus design

Abstract

The paper aims to develop a campus-level planning support system that is driven by data analytics by comparing two design approaches, anticipation and optimization. A campus is defined as a small-scale complex urban system of buildings and infrastructure. Three questions are addressed: (1) What generates campus design? What principles are taken for making design decisions? (2) How do we optimize design options based on multi-criteria performance and multi-objectives? (3) How can we manage a process of complex systems design, from scenario making, performance evaluation, design optimization to design generation? What properties can be derived from the above processes to inform campus design decisions? Driven by the above questions, design approaches by anticipation and by optimization were employed in a campus site design. By reviewing those processes, a data-driven campus planning support system is proposed to manage complex decisions and communicate design decisions through a visualization platform. This research will contribute to exploring how urban design is driven by data analytics for promoting energy efficiency and system resilience.

What does urban informatics add to planning support technology?

“…The most often mentioned term in the "value-added" discussion (from urban informatics to planning support technology) is "participation"-participation of both planners in the modeling processes (Page et al, 2020(Page et al, : 1508 or modelers in the planning processes (Jiang et al, 2020(Jiang et al, : 1343Pettit et al, 2020Pettit et al, : 1490Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474. Urban informatics and smart city technologies can contribute to improved participatory planning infrastructure with better communication technologies and faster prototyping of PSS models that allow the automation of model updates (in real time) during participatory deliberation (Cai et al, 2020(Cai et al, : 1380.…”

“…Instrumental value is produced by enabling feedback solicited from planners and local stakeholders directly implicate PSS model outcomes and improvements (Cai et al, 2020(Cai et al, : 1380Pettit, 2020Pettit, : 1490Page et al, 2020Page et al, : 1508. Planner and stakeholder inputs help to create multiple scenarios that can inform planning consequences and policy decisions (Yang, 2020(Yang, : 1440Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474Xu et al, 2020Xu et al, : 1361. The normative value of participation is realized in the smart city ideal of transparent, participatory, and collaborative open government and data (Deal et al, 2017b;Pereira et al, 2017).…”

“…It supplements decades of PSS literature presenting novel approaches to core model development (Basu andFerreira, 2020: 1397;Jia et al, 2020Jia et al, : 1418 with an increasing focus on the integration of the planning process and the applications of PSS technologies (Jiang et al, 2020(Jiang et al, : 1343Page et al, 2020Page et al, : 1508. User interface developments are also presented (Pettit et al, 2020(Pettit et al, : 1490Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474 as are urban analytics that utilize recently available big data sets (Pan et al, : 1456Yang, 2020Yang, : 1440. These additions help demonstrate new opportunities for the integration of planning support research, urban informatics, and smart cities.…”

“…From the papers in this issue, the role of PSS interfaces in revealing the "value added" by urban informatics is to: (a) communicate complex models and data to users (Pan et al, : 1456Pettit et al, 2020Pettit et al, : 1490Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474; (b) prototype models to generic processes that can be run by any user (Pettit et al, 2020(Pettit et al, : 1490Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474; and (c) solicit contextual feedback or inputs from users to improve the analysis (Pan et al, : 1456Yang et al, 2020Yang et al, : 1474. We expect further use-based tests on the design features of these interfaces to examine whether they have adequate user-friendliness to realize these claimed benefits.…”

“…The interface aims to improve both the understandability of the analytical results and their use in public planning and policy formation. Yang et al (2020Yang et al ( : 1474 developed a web-based visualization platform for urban design-Plugs-web-which can replicate their modeling process and also facilitates visual communication and collaboration between PSS developers, stakeholders and users. The RAISE tool developed by Pettit et al (2020Pettit et al ( : 1490 provide users with a deliberate access to complex models and the ability to create and explore a range of 'what-if' scenarios.…”