Four years ago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s City Form Lab launched Urban Network Analysis (UNA), a city-modeling software that facilitates a mathematical analysis of relationships among elements in a complex system, like a city. The unique feature of UNA is that it incorporates activities within buildings into its analysis.
This toolbox has been popular with planners and geographers, but it requires ArcGIS10 software with an ArcGIS Network Analysis Extension.
In April, City Form Lab expanded this software’s utility by introducing UNA for Rhino 3D, a modeling software for architects, engineers, and designers.
“Our toolbox helps planners and architects analyze these relationships and quantify how intensely different routes are likely to be utilized, how visible or connected public spaces are, or how conveniently one can get from one space to another,” says Andres Sevtsuk, the principal investigator at City Form Lab and developer of the UNA tool.
In layman’s terms, the software predicts where people are likely to go once they’ve decided upon an activity, like, say, going to an ATM machine or a park. The software provides users with some idea about which ATM or park that would be. As for movements to and within buildings, UNA takes into account employee head count, a building’s value, the surrounding population, and so forth.
This app’s toolbox also computes how urban design can affect—or even dictate—pedestrian movement. Sevtsuk notes, too, that the software can be scaled to account for the diversity of movement in different cities and towns.
Sevtsuk is encouraged by the sheer amount of spatial data available about urban areas, particularly in the U.S., where “you can go to any sizable city website and download data that is necessary to calibrate any of these models.” He’s confident that this software can be used to predict movement in public or semi-public spaces such as building lobbies or shopping centers.
Related Stories
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | May 10, 2016
Advanced laser scanning technology supports data collection and modeling efforts for Missouri’s Iatan 1 Power Plant
For the installation of a new heat exchanger, the power division of Black & Veatch contracted an engineering firm to laser scan the site, make a piping model in Autodesk® Revit®, and export it into AutoCAD® to deliver results.
AEC Tech | May 9, 2016
Is the nation’s grand tech boom really an innovation funk?
Despite popular belief, the country is not in a great age of technological and digital innovation, at least when compared to the last great innovation era (1870-1970).
Big Data | May 5, 2016
Demand for data integration technologies for buildings is expected to soar over the next decade
A Navigant Research report takes a deeper dive to examine where demand will be strongest by region and building type.
BIM and Information Technology | May 2, 2016
How HDR used computational design tools to create Omaha's UNO Baxter Arena
Three years after writing a white paper about designing an arena for the University of Nebraska Omaha, HDR's Matt Goldsberry says it's time to cherry-pick the best problem-solving workflows.
Drones | Apr 25, 2016
The Tremco SkyBEAM UAV is the first to be approved by the FAA for nighttime commercial operation
The SkyBEAM UAV is used for identifying energy leaks, rooftop damage, deteriorating façades, and safety issues without requiring scaffolding or cranes.
BIM and Information Technology | Apr 21, 2016
U.K. imposes BIM requirement on government projects
U.S. unlikely to follow suit.
AEC Tech | Apr 15, 2016
Should architects learn to code?
Even if learning to code does not personally interest you, the growing demand for having these capabilities in an architectural business cannot be overlooked, writes computational design expert Nathan Miller.
Building Tech | Apr 12, 2016
Should we be worried about a tech slowdown?
Is the U.S. in an innovative funk, or is this just the calm before the storm?
BIM and Information Technology | Apr 8, 2016
Turner streamlines construction progress tracking using predictive visual data analytics
The construction giant teams with a computer science and engineering professor to develop a clever drone- and rover-based construction monitoring tool.
BIM and Information Technology | Apr 5, 2016
Interactive 3D map shows present and future Miami skyline
The Downtown Miami Interactive 3-D Skyline Map lets users see the status of every downtown office, retail, residential, and hotel project.