What will be the role of geospatial technology in sustainable design?
GIS has a long history of applications related to sustainability. Geodesign is a new emerging area of interest that focuses on integrating traditional GIS and interactive design tools. It integrates interoperative maps (suitability modelling) with the ability to sketch land use proposals on top of these maps and in such a way these proposals can be immediately evaluated in terms of their consequences. The idea is to combine the science of GIS with the ability to quickly evaluate the sustainability consequences of a design. We are building these tools into core GIS technology. We think this will improve how users make design decisions on land use, business, public facilities and virtually every other type of location plan. The tools will help them evaluate the consequences of the decisions so that they can then ultimately make wiser choices. Right now GIS is all about describing the world. Geodesign will help people design a future that considers sustainability. They will incorporate al
