A Geographic Information System (GIS) software program for mapping, measuring, and analyzing the storm water, summer energy savings, carbon storage and sequestration, air quality, and wildlife of urban ecosystems.
“CommunityViz is advanced yet easy-to-use GIS software designed to help people visualize, analyze, and communicate about important community planning decisions.”
GIS software allows viewers to access complex geographical data about their community online including maps and satellite images. GIS systems also analyze and display data such as proposed development plans and statistics, and survey data.
Using the Box City curriculum, participants construct buildings and cities out of boxes to learning about planning and land use or explore what they want for their town.
Flickr is a popular online image and video hosting website that allows users to upload media and share it with the rest of the online community. The site is also popular with bloggers as a way to host images that they embed in blogs and social media.
A start-up project in Burlington, Vermont creates online communities for residents of each city neighborhood, on which they can get to know each other, post requests for help or information, discuss neighborhood issues, and make announcements.
Photo simulation communicates the potential effects of planning, development and design decisions on a community’s existing conditions by showing before and after photographs of a project site.
The Common Ground process is based upon a Venn diagram, in which two individual entities overlap slightly; the process focuses on identifying and using those areas of overlap in viewpoints, rather than creating consensus or resolving differences.
The Natural Step Framework (TNS) is based in an international advisory organization that uses a science-based, systems framework to help organizations, individuals and communities take meaningful steps toward sustainability.