Computer-Aided Zoning and Urban Planning

This article is based on my PhD thesis about creating a free, cloud-based tool that allows us to greatly simplify the process of zoning and urban planning using a combination of satellite data, altitude data and existing information about building. I analyzed existing programs and found ways to improve productivity of humans working in this sphere and decrease skills and education required for such work. The article describes flaws in existing programs and methods I use to correct deficiencies. I also tested my program and methods for measurement errors and compared results with existing methods, and the error margin is less than 2%. The few people to whom I asked to test the beta version of my software were able to do tasks a few times faster than in any other software. Compared to manual methods (still widespread in Russia), testers were able to increase time required for tasks from days to minutes.