Assessment of the Methods and Extents of the Usage of Urban Modeling in Urban Design Practice in US Cities

Literature suggests that present urban design plans and methods are inadequate to deal with the scale and complexity of contemporary urban form and multidisciplinary collaborative practice. Although recent developments in urban modeling technologies have brought about a wide range of different techniques and potential implementations that may help address this inadequacy, they have not yet made their desired impact on the design process. Failure to use these capabilities extensively in actual practice may result primarily from a limited understanding of the proper role these tools should play or the impact they may have. There is also hesitation about which are appropriate and effective applications, and little consensus on the methods with which these capabilities should be used in core design activities. More investigation is needed to understand fully their application in urban design practice. This research suggests a methodological framework underlying the methods of using various urban modeling functionalities. A questionnaire survey method was used to document the methods and assess the extents to which designers used urban modeling tools in developing eight urban design plans. The questionnaire survey findings were compared with the theoretical premises. The findings showed that design methodology is the main factor that affects the effectiveness of modeling to support design activities. The findings showed extensive, inconsistent usage and various degrees of support for design activities that resulted in various degrees of impact on urban design aspects. The findings suggest the provision of dynamic visualization supported by efficient networking may advance urban modeling to become a tool of public advocacy and design decision support which can advance urban design practice to informational, communicational, and representational systems.