3D Visualization of Zoning Plans

Traditionally, zoning plans have been represented on a 2D map. However, visualizing a zoning plan in 2D has several limitations, such as visualizing heights of buildings. Furthermore, a zoning plan is abstract, which for citizens can be hard to interpret.
Therefore, the goal of this research is to explore how a zoning plan can be visualized in 3D and how it can be visualized it is understandable for the public.
The 3D visualization of a zoning plan is applied in a case study, presented in Google Earth, and a survey is executed to verify how the respondents perceive the zoning plan from the case study.
An important factor of zoning plans is interpretation, since it determines if the public is able to understand what is visualized by the zoning plan. This is challenging, since a zoning plan is abstract and consists of many detailed information and difficult terms. In the case study several techniques are used to visualize the zoning plan in 3D.
The survey shows that visualizing heights in 3D gives a good impression of the maximum heights and is considered as an important advantage in comparison to 2D.
The survey also made clear including existing buildings is useful, which can help that the public can recognize the area easier.

Another important factor is interactivity. Interactivity can range from letting people navigate through a zoning plan area and in the case study users can click on a certain area or object in the plan and subsequently a menu pops up showing more detailed information of a certain object.
The survey made clear that using a popup menu is useful, but this technique did not optimally work. Navigating in Google Earth was also being positively judged.

Information intensity is also an important factor Information intensity concerns the level of detail of a 3D representation of an object. Zoning plans are generally not meant to be visualized in a high level of detail, but should be represented abstract.
The survey could not implicitly point out that the zoning plan shows too much or too less detail, but it could point out that the majority of the respondents answered that the zoning plan does not show too much information.

The interface used for the case study, Google Earth, has a substantial influence on the interpretation of the zoning plan. The legend in Google Earth is unclear and an explanation of the zoning plan is lacking, which is required to make the zoning plan more understandable.
This research has shown that 3D can stimulate the interpretation of zoning plans, because users can get a better impression of the plan and is clearer than a current 2D zoning plan. However, the interpretation of a zoning plan, even in 3D, still is complex.

传统上， zoning plans（分区规划）通常以二维地图的形式呈现。然而，二维地图的分区规划可视化存在诸多局限，例如难以展现建筑的高度。此外，分区规划本身具有抽象性，对于公众而言，理解起来可能较为困难。因此，本研究的目的是探讨如何将分区规划以三维形式进行可视化，以及如何使其对公众而言易于理解。本研究以三维分区规划可视化为例，在 Google Earth 中进行案例研究，并执行调查以验证受访者对案例研究中分区规划的认知。分区规划的一个重要因素是解释性，因为它决定了公众是否能够理解分区规划所展现的内容。这一过程颇具挑战，因为分区规划抽象且包含大量详细信息和难以理解的专业术语。在案例研究中，采用了多种技术以三维形式可视化分区规划。调查结果显示，三维可视化高度能够给人以良好的印象，并且相较于二维，三维在展现最大高度方面具有显著优势。调查还明确指出，包括现有建筑有助于公众更易于识别区域。互动性是另一个重要因素。互动性可以从允许人们导航分区规划区域开始，在案例研究中，用户可以点击规划中的特定区域或对象，随后弹出一个菜单，显示该对象的详细信息。调查明确指出，使用弹出菜单是有益的，但这种技术并未达到最佳效果。在 Google Earth 中的导航也受到了积极的评价。信息强度也是一个重要因素。信息强度涉及到三维对象表现层次的详细程度。分区规划通常不意味着需要以高细节水平进行可视化，而应采用抽象的表示方式。调查并未隐含地指出分区规划显示过多或过少的信息，但它指出，大多数受访者表示分区规划并未显示过多信息。用于案例研究的界面，即 Google Earth，对分区规划的解释具有重大影响。Google Earth 中的图例不够清晰，且缺少对分区规划的说明，这是使分区规划更易于理解所必需的。本研究表明，三维可视化可以刺激分区规划的解释，因为用户可以更好地了解规划，且比现有的二维分区规划更为清晰。然而，即使在三维中，对分区规划的解释仍然是一个复杂的过程。