What if? 1.1 Released

CAPS, Inc.

July 5, 2002 – Richard Klosterman, Ph.D., of Community Analysis and Planning Systems, Inc., Hudson, Ohio, announces the release of What if?TM 1.1 an up-dated version of its GIS-based system for evaluating alternative land development policies and projecting future land use patterns.

As its name suggests, What if? a is an explicitly policy-oriented planning tool for determining what would happen if public policy choices are made and assumptions about the future prove to be true. Policy choices that can be considered in the model include: (1) the expansion of public infrastructure; (2) the implementation of farmland or open space protection policies, or (3) the adoption of land use plans, zoning ordinances, or other growth controls.

What if? 1.1 can be used to:

. Conduct Suitability Analysis. The What if? Suitability option can be used to quickly and easily generate suitability maps and tables reporting the relative suitability of different locations for different land uses.

. Project Land Use Demand. The What if? Growth option can be used to project the future demand for residential, industrial, commercial, preservation, and local land uses.

. Project Future Land Use Patterns. The What if? Allocation option projects future land use patterns by allocating the projected demand for each land use to different locations, based on their relative suitability for these uses and user-selected public policy choices.

What if? is currently being used by over 50 planning agencies and academic departments across the United States and around the world. Among other improvements, What if? 1.1 provides a greatly improved setup procedure and the ability to compare scenario maps and reports on-screen.

For further information and a free, fully functional, demonstration version of What if? 1.1 visit www.What-if-PSS.com or contact:

Richard E. Klosterman, President

Community Analysis and Planning Systems, Inc.

Phone: 330-650-9087

Fax: 330-650-9087

E-mail: [email protected].