Abstract

Improving the Viewshed Analysis: the human-centric alternative
Track: Urban and Regional Planning
Authors: Brent Chamberlain, Michael Meitner

Viewshed algorithms are used in planning and analysis for a wide variety of applications. We demonstrate an improved viewshed and its application to tourism, landscape and urban planning, and forestry. The viewshed in ArcGIS only provides simplistic output of the perspective view; the intent is to determine cells within a DEM that are visible and those that are not. Our viewshed includes the concept of Visual Magnitude which provides a cell-by-cell measure of the importance each cell has within an individual's perspective. The analysis enables planners to better understand the implications of changing the landscape whether through land-use modification or object placement. 3D visualization tools are often used to demonstrate these effects, but our method is capable of supplying 3D information in a simple 2D layer that is easy to use for planning purposes. To demonstrate, comparisons are made with photo-realistic simulations of actual landscapes and the improved viewshed algorithm.