In this tutorial, you'll explore the scenarios proposed in the plan for the Fullerton rail district and some new projects in the area.

Open an urban model

You will open an example urban model that has been created for Fullerton, California. The model contains two types of content: a plan and several projects. Plans usually encompass multiple parcels and contain scenarios that can model the impact of different zoning or land use decisions. These scenarios enable you to visualize low-level detail 3D models based on building and space use types and the parcels' underlying zoning or land use codes. Plans also use metrics such as population growth and density to measure the impact of each scenario. Projects show future building projects at the scale of a single lot or parcel.

This model contains a plan showing several mixed-use development scenarios for an old railroad corridor in downtown Fullerton. It also contains multiple projects showing proposed building projects around the rail district.

Note:
The planning and design concepts used are fictitious and meant for training purposes only. No real-world planning or design is intended nor implied by this example model or content.

  1. Open the City of Fullerton model in ArcGIS Urban.

    The City of Fullerton urban model displays, showing pushpins that represent projects and the plan study area for the rail district area that you'll explore. First, you'll open and explore the Rail District Specific Plan, shown on the map by the pin in the middle of the red rectangle.

    Model showing pushpins

  2. Within the plan study area, click the red pushpin to view details about the plan.

    Selected red pushpin

    The side panel opens, showing the properties of the plan that you clicked.

    Plan details window

    The urban model displays many locations in Fullerton that represent various land use plans that are accessible by the public. Your work will focus on the Rail District Specific Plan (RDP). In the main display, you see a public-facing view that contains a representation of the city along with three key elements: Projects, Plans, and Indicators. These elements to help organize planning work and build realistic scenarios.

    • Projects allow you to organize development proposals.
    • Plans integrate land use and zoning data to enable scenario planning.
    • Indicators are maps and charts that help describe the urban environment.
  3. On the ribbon, click Scenario 1- Rezoning.

    Open Scenario 1 - Rezoning.

    Scenario 1 - Rezoning opens. This scenario shows potential rezoning for the plan area.

  4. On the ribbon, click the Zoning tab.

    Click the Zoning tab

    The Zoning pane opens. The pane shows a list of zoning types in the scenario. For each zoning type, the ac column shows the acreage allocated in this scenario, and the delta column shows the change in acreage compared to the existing zoning.

  5. Click parcels on the map and read the informational to explore the new zoning that has been proposed.

    Details about the new zoning types

    The zoning information shows details about what building and space use types are allowed on the parcel. For example, on parcels zoned Rail District High Density Residential, building height is capped at 70 feet and allowed space uses are residential multifamily housing, parking, affordable housing, retail, and office space. If you include building types and space uses that don't align with the designated zoning type of a parcel, an error warning will appear. This allow you to check that your designs follow the regulations outlined in the zoning code.

  6. On the ribbon, click Scenario 2 - Buildout and explore the scenario.
  7. On the side panel, click Return to overview.

Use navigation tools

Now that you have opened the urban model, you will work with primary user interface elements and navigation tools of Urban.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Options button to display the contents of the urban model.

    Opening the table of contents

    The layers in the urban model are divided into groups: base map styles and other context layers. You can show or hide these layers from the map by clicking them.

    Contents of urban model

    Note:

    Currently, the Schematic representation is displayed. You can change to the Realistic or Underground representation to provide different views of the urban model.

    Urban is open for public engagement and collaboration and contains many tools that facilitate this. You may want to access a model and take a screenshot to include in a presentation or report.

  2. In the contents side panel, click Take a screenshot.
  3. Draw a rectangle indicating the area you want to capture.

    Screenshot area

  4. On the ribbon, click Save.

    The image downloads to your computer as a .png file that you can include in presentations, reports, and feedback. You can access the screen shot from the download menu on the bottom or from the Downloads folder.

  5. Click and drag the map to pan the view so that the red pin to the northwest of the Rail District outline is centered.
  6. Right-click while moving the pointer forward and backward to tilt the view.

    Tilting the view in 3D

  7. Right-click while moving the pointer from side to side to rotate the scene.
  8. Double-click to zoom to the pointer.
  9. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

    There are several keyboard shortcuts you can use to navigate as well:

    • Press N to rotate the view to face north.
    • Press P to tilt the view to perpendicular.
    • Press J to incrementally move closer in the view.
    • Press U to incrementally move away from the view.
    • Press the arrow keys to incrementally pan the view left, right, up, or down.

    Being familiar with these navigation operations will help you explore models and develop scenarios.

Explore building projects

Next, you'll review some of the building projects in the area using a 3D mesh. Many projects contain 3D models of the proposed building in various levels of detail, so a key aspect of reviewing them in the urban model is navigating and viewing the model from different angles and perspectives. Using a 3D textured mesh from Nearmap, you can compare development proposals and review designs within an accurate context of the City of Fullerton.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Options button to open the contents side panel.
  2. Click Realistic, and close the side panel.

    Satellite basemap

    The 3D textured mesh appears, and the buildings look like realistic representations of actual buildings.

    Nearmap 3D textured mesh

    Adding the Nearmap 3D textured mesh to your urban model can help you better picture the area surrounding the development.

  3. Click Projects.
  4. From the list, click Amplifi Apartments.

    Amplifi project search result

    The Amplifi Apartments project is added to the model.

    Zoomed in to the Amplifi Apartments project

    In addition to the visualization, you can use the analysis tools, such as the interactive Line of Sight tool, simultaneously with the 3D mesh, to provide a more realistic view of what you might see or experience from this location.

  5. Locate the View toolbar near the bottom of the screen.

    View toolbar

  6. Click Daylight and move the slider to change the shadows based on the month and time of day.

    Shadows displayed using Daylight button

    To see what the building might look like in other seasons, you can also change the date and explore shadow cover based on the specified month.

  7. Move the slider back to 12:00 PM.
  8. Click Analysis to expand the toolbar.

    Analysis tool options

    The options on this toolbar allow you to measure distance or area, perform line of sight analysis, and slice objects for cross-sectional analysis.

  9. On the View toolbar, click Analysis, and click Line of sight.
  10. Click an upper-level window in the Amplifi Apartment complex to place an observer point.

    Elevation guides on the line of sight analysis

    This is the point at which your hypothetical observer is standing. As you move the mouse around the scene, green indicates what you can see from the observer point of view, and red shows where the target is not visible. Yellow elevation guides show the height of the cursor on the screen.

  11. Click different points around the apartment complex to add multiple sight lines to the model. Double-click the last point to complete the analysis.

    Line of sight from apartments

    To clear the lines of sight and start over, you can click New analysis on the Line of sight toolbar.

  12. On the Line of sight toolbar, click Done.

    Done button

You've now reviewed the proposed zoning changes for the Fullerton Rail District and explored some of the building projects in the area. Using navigation tools, shadow analysis, and line of sight analysis, you were able to determine views from the proposed construction project and how it might fit in to the existing community.