Buildings are the foundation of any 3D city; they create a realistic visual context for understanding the built environment. This rule can help you quickly create 3D buildings using your existing 2D building footprint polygons. Create buildings for your whole city or specific areas of interest. Use the buildings for context surrounding higher-detail buildings or proposed future developments.Already have existing 3D buildings? Check out the Textured Buildings from Mass by Building Type rule.What you getA Rule Package file named Building_FromFootprint_Textured_ByLandUse.rpk Rule works with a polygon layerGet startedIn ArcGIS Pro Use this rule to create Procedural Symbols, which are 3D symbols drawn on 2D features Create 3D objects (Multipatch layer) for sharing on the webShare on the web via a Scene LayerIn CityEngine:CityEngine File Navigator HelpParametersBuilding Type: Eave_Height: Height from the ground to the eave, units controlled by the Units parameterFloor_Height: Height of each floor, units controlled by the Units parameterLand_Use: Use on the land and type of building, this helps in assigning appropriate building texturesRoof_Form: Style of the building roof (Gable, Hip, Flat, Green)Roof_Height: Height from the eave to the top of the roof, units controlled by the Units parameterDisplay:Color_Override: Setting this to True will allow you to define a specific color using the Override_Color parameter, and will disable photo-texturing.Override_Color: Allows you to specify a building color using the color palette. Note: you must change the Color_Override parameter from False to True for this parameter to take effect.Transparency: Sets the amount of transparency of the feature Units:Units: Controls the measurement units in the rule: Meters | FeetNote: You can hook up the rule parameters to attributes in your data by clicking on the database icon to the right of each rule parameter. The database icon will change to blue when the rule parameter is mapped to an attribute field. The rule will automatically connect when field names match rule parameter names. Use layer files to preserve rule configurations unique to your data.For those who want to know moreThis rule is part of a the 3D Rule Library available in the Living Atlas. Discover more 3D rules to help you perform your work.Learn more about ArcGIS Pro in the Getting to Know ArcGIS Pro lesson

Urban rail is potentially coming to Austin, TX. This project examined the physical and economic development changes that could take place by taking the output of Envision Tomorrow and loading it into the CityEngine Web Viewer.

The project team consisted of Civic Analytics, the City of Austin, and the University of Texas. Using a scenario planning software called Envision Tomorrow, the team added data-heavy building types to city parcels most likely to develop while trying to reach population projections for the year 2030. The output of Envision Tomorrow is a number of helpful analytics and maps that demonstrate impact from various future scenarios. These results were then passed on to local stakeholders for feedback to help a more accurate model.

Taking the output and loading it into CityEngine allowed the team to better visualize the height, form, and density impacts of the new development. Whereas before, development was displayed by showing parcels divided up by color in 2D maps, CityEngine enabled the stakeholders to more readily digest the output and spot the differences between scenarios. Stakeholders were able to spot development that would probably not happen and also ask questions about why some parts of Austin were riper for change than others. Their feedback was crucial as it allowed the project team to refine the analysis and look as accurately as possible into the future.

One of the goals of the project was to examine two scenarios of development: what if we build transit and what if we do not. The CityEngine web viewer enables the average user to swipe between two scenarios and to select a building to learn more about its attributes. The capability of sharing this model via the web cannot be overstated as it allows for increased accessibility and personal freedom to explore the project. 3D models make information easier to digest than maps. This fact makes getting feedback on physical planning projects more efficient, reliable, and easy to do.