Betaville: The Radical Democratization of Urban Planning

In small towns, citizens can attend town hall meetings, and vote directly on major changes to the community, while in larger cities, allowing every resident to have a voice in shaping his community’s built environment can be quite complex. Coincidentally, the sheer number of new projects that arise in large cities, like New York for example, can overwhelm residents, and leave folks with the impression that they have actually do not a voice in the decision making process. However, an interesting new open-source urban planning program is now available that could change the way in which architectural projects move from design to reality.

Betaville offers local communities a better way to envision proposed changes, and an opportunity to provide input. The software offers residents a three dimensional view of their community with icons representing newly proposed projects and lets them see what they would look like if implemented - before they are asked to vote on whether a certain project moves forward.  Users can also provide feedback for architects and city planners, creating a spatial dialogue between designers, developers, and local communities that is hard to find.

This innovative software is designed to cultivate a vibrant conversation about urban planning — and therefore make the entire process more friendly, and more hands-on than ever before. Betaville not only provides a venue for residents to voice their opinion about new projects, but to also more actively take part in the creation of more livable and sustainable communities.

Watch a video of Betaville >>

[This article was inspired by the Utopianist]