Creation and Comparison of Sustainable Neighbourhood Patterns

In this paper I describe an interactive system designed to help landscape architects easily create and compare sustainable neighbourhood patterns that meet predetermined criteria. I first obtained application design ideas after observing the group create patterns in their current manner with paper maps and buildings in a mock pattern collaboration session. Ultimately I created a brand new pattern design system that offers users familiar interactions while providing a plethora of new functionality along with infovis solutions to help them evaluate and compare various neighbourhood layouts. This version of the application was built on a desktop computer but its fundamental design considerations support its inevitable transition to a large multi-top table for collaborative work.