Yes, there’s a new way to see the city now that the Toronto City Planning office has released the data that will help designers and architects interpret the vast building landscape of the city.
Called 3D massing, the data includes specs for each building in the city as well as location context.
The city uses the information to create 3D maps and test new building plans.
The data works to create a digital model of the city, allowing developers to see how the building would fit physically on the street and the rest of us to see what kind of shadow that building will cast on our condo.
If you’re ever wondering what kind of view a new apartment might have, exploring these maps will definitely give you that info.
So far the data has been used to visualize the city’s types of terrain, zoning destinations, and heritage buildings. Not particularly exciting, but the real fun comes in making it useful for the rest of us.
While most of us can’t do much with the data in its raw format, app developers can use the information to make maps and apps we can play with.
So far ViziCities has created this 3D version of Toronto, and as more developers get their hands on the data, there is no limit to its ability.
We love that you can quickly and easily see all the greenery in Toronto – which is helpful when deciding on a new neighbourhood to move to, if you care at all about access to parks and recreation.
If you have any ideas for useful tools you might like to see developed with the data, they’re taking suggestions on the Open Data and City Planning Twitter pages.
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Cover photo from: istock.com/KeithBinns
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