Two former Mozilla engineers strive to merge big data with a 3D model of London and, potentially, other cities.

There is no shortage of news about numerous apps and visualization tools to facilitate design and presentation in planning. The latest in visualization tools provide a real-life experience of not only the built environment, but also attempts to overlay big data to create an “experience which is immediately intuitive, whether you're my grandma or whether you're the Head of Transport for London, you can come in and use this tool to understand complex data in a real-world environment. One which makes it immediately more tangible than a two-dimensional map, giving you more context, which makes it easier to make decisions based on all that data.”
Michael Grothaus reports on two former Mozilla engineers Robin Hawkes and Peter Smart who are working on a SimCity-esque 3D model of London. Hawkes and Smart mash OpenStreetMap with big data that are publicly accessible, but not often used or even understood by the average person. ViziCities attempts to present big data (ranging from government demographics to Twitter feeds) in a manner that can be visually and even audibly experienced in a simulated 3D world. While ViziCities is creating a 3D world of London, Hawkes and Smart plan to offer their codes on GitHub to encourage other developers to create 3D models of their own cities.
FULL STORY: This Former Mozilla Engineer Turned London Into SimCity, With Real Data

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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