This project describes a platform that enables community residents to interactively propose and explore alternative development ideas on sites within an area served by a transit node, and to interact with the city to assess feasibility of obtaining appropriate entitlements, and with developers to assess financial feasibility. The platform involves procedural generation of 3D geometry and rendering, and integrates building envelope calculations that generate buildable envelopes for alternative zoning and building codes on the sites, as well as doing financial analysis on the development using analytical tools of real estate development, including market analysis and pro forma analysis. The platform also incorporates automated generation of indicators such as sunlight exposure, and walking access to transit and other amenities. By providing an integrated platform that enables community residents, city planners, and developers to interact, the platform increases the feasibility of TOD implementation. The platform is already in active development for operational use and has initial applications in progress.

The paper will describe the motivation for the development of the platform, and examines the role of technologies such as 3D modeling and crowdsourcing as means of addressing community resistance to projects that increase density, by involving the community in the design and development process. The platform also integrates with regional land use and transportation models to provide a means to examine broader implications of the plans for a given site, in a regional context.