UDC_Urban Design Calculator (Fusion Point Gothenburg, Delprojekt A-x1)

Research Project, 2018

Urban Design Calculator (UDC) is a design support tool that integrates spatial analysis to urban design and planning process. It is based on the theory of space syntax and the GIS-based tool PST developed at KTH and Chalmers, in cooperation with Spacescape AB. The background of the development of UDC is that architects and urban designers, generally speaking, are not familiar with GIS-software such as QGIS, ArcGIS or Mapinfo, that require specific knowledge of a software they do not use as a drawing tool. For drawing, CAD applications are often used that, however, do not support the validation of results.
 
UDC aims to offer a stand-alone tool, easy and user-friendly, which can bridge the often separate phases of the design process – from the concept formulation, to the testing of different design alternatives and evaluation of design proposals through spatial analysis. It aims to be used not only as an evaluation tool after the design, but as part of the design process, during the first explorative sketches and when the main structural choices are made; so that spatial analysis can be part of the feedback loop of the design process offering the necessary input that can inform the main design choices.         
The project is funded by Älvstranden Utveckling AB in the framework of a larger cooperation project called Fusion Point Gothenburg.