Point cloud modeling as a bridge between landscape design and planning

The paper evolves on the discourse of digital three-dimensional (3-D) modeling methods in the fields of landscape architecture and landscape planning. Digital design and planning methods used at present rely on mapping and modeling techniques that fall short of engaging the physical form of the landscape. However, form-specific knowledge is essential to understand how transformations can improve landscape functions, for example, in terms of providing ecosystem services and influencing climate in response to increasing heat in cities. The technical development of laser-scanning technology for landscape survey introduced new approaches over the last decade in working with geospatial data. Laser-scanning, or LiDAR, is now used to create digital 3-D representations of the landscape at high definition in the form of point clouds models. Beyond their function of representation, point cloud models can be manipulated to represent future landscape scenarios. Changes can be developed by editing the point cloud models and using the characteristics of form and scale of the physical site, resulting in an informed workflow of landscape transformation. In this paper, we address an existing gap in working concurrently with the analytical and spatio-visual properties of the landscape and propose a method that integrates landscape planning and design approaches by using point cloud models as a shared medium. We (i) propose a modeling method that employs laser-scanned data as a medium to represent landscape transformation and to enable a new level of inquiry for shaping future scenarios; (ii) exemplify with a case scenario in Singapore how point cloud models can be used to exchange analytical and spatial information for assessing thermal comfort; (iii) discuss the role that point cloud models can play in establishing a bridge between methods of landscape design and of landscape planning to develop the quality of urban landscapes.