Visualisation for sustainable decision making

Sustainable decision making in urban design is a complex and non-linear process which requires the interaction of a wide variety of stakeholders. Tools to support the decision process are commonplace but are dominated by the perceptions of the “expert” decision makers (e.g. planners, architects, and design engineers). This paper describes a prototype interactive simulation and visualisation platform (S-City VT) that integrates and communicates complex multidisciplinary information to diverse stakeholder groups, including local authorities and the general public. This will enable informed decisions to be made that contribute to the achievement of sustainable development and provide insight into the short and long term implications of alternative courses of action.