Those who are familiar with Grasshopper in Rhino will find it to be a similar concept, except on an urban scale, rather than a building/product scale. CityEngine is like 3D Studio Max, SketchUp, or any other 3D modeling program combined with procedural rules established with code. Wikipedia How is CityEngine different from other modeling and community visualization software?ĬityEngine can automatically generate geometry based on programmable rules. What is CityEngine?Įsri CityEngine is a three-dimensional (3D) modeling software application developed by Esri R and D Center Zurich (formerly Procedural Inc.) and is specialized in the generation of 3D urban environments. Aside from rendering, the procedurally generated blocks also output total floor areas, envelope areas, building volumes, floor-space ratios (FSR), and projected population. The images above are tests with random height variables and do not reflect any actual plan.
This project used ESRI CityEngine to visualize and test urban form regulations on neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver.