GIS Application in Urban Design

The popularity of GIS will bring some great changes in the field of urban planning. The paper discusses the application of GIS in the processing of urban design. Using off the shelf GIS as an urban design tool kit, a framework for the application of GIS in the processing of urban design is presented. Then it focuses on GIS application in two important issues: the designing process and public participation. 3D visualization can play an important role in the designing process. WebGIS integrated with VRML is an effective way of public participation in urban design.