Civil Information Modeling (CIM) champions sustainability in urban planning by engendering a digital environment for multidisciplinary data analytics, without wasting actual resources. Autodesk®’s CIM products–most notably, Civil 3D® and Forma–have already been implemented to advance sustainability efforts in urban planning; still, they have room to grow.
With CTC Software’s Suites of Civil 3D add-ins, professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry can augment the progress made by Autodesk, building toward a greener planet city by city.
The Role of Autodesk CIM Software in Sustainable Urban Planning
Autodesk® conceptualizes CIM as the inoculation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) into programs utilized by civil engineers (e.g., Autodesk’s Computer-Aided Design product, AutoCAD®).
Although BIM is typically associated with Revit (software geared toward architects), this is really a matter of semantics. BIM and CIM function identically, diverging only in application, as far as Autodesk is concerned.
With CIM, each member of an AEC team can quickly evaluate data underlying civil engineering prototypes, such as those existing within Autodesk Civil 3D. This process saves real-world labor and materials by facilitating the comparison of different Civil 3D models. Autodesk emphasizes the dynamism of these models by calling them “digital twins.” These are not static depictions sitting in a computer program; they are simulations of physical structures and environments that mature through machine learning and intra-project exchanges of information.
CIM is the product of those channels, which eliminate traditional forms of trial-and-error that pollute earth, squander supplies, and balloon budgets,
CTC Software conceptualizes CIM as CIM, appreciating its specialized benefits for civil engineers, which, in turn, vests both the engineer and their AEC partners with command over the data fueling their urban-planning venture.
Tapping into the power of CIM, CTC Software has developed add-ins for Autodesk® Civil 3D that expedite urban planning by improving user productivity. CTC Software offers these extensions in its CIM Project Suite™ and CIM Manager Suites™, streamlining design and production workflows, respectively.
Autodesk Forma in Urban Planning: A Snapshot of Sustainability with CIM
AEC experts have already employed CIM software to increase sustainability in the planning of some Nordic municipalities. Danish urban planners have shaped Rødovre, a district of Copenhagen, with Autodesk’s CIM/BIM programs (i.e., Civil 3D and Revit) and the newly minted Forma platform.
Released to consumers in 2023, Autodesk® Forma promises the cloud-galvanized bridging of every professional collaborating on an AEC enterprise. With a focus on schematic design, Forma’s tools seize on artificial intelligence (AI) and connect with other Autodesk programs to perform pre-design actions. Forma can contextualize a digital model based on variables present at a proposed geolocation. It can also run automated analyses of qualitative data, revealing a model’s effects on markers like quality-of-life, sustainability, and ecology.
Forma’s anticipatory features make it particularly suited for urban planning. Urban planner Jesper Pagh, who formerly served as the Rødovre city architect, noted that “Forma makes it easy to visualize what is practically possible” by equipping AEC experts with “measurable data on” the impact of the elements, including the “sun, wind and noise[.]” This information is crucial for sustainable urban planning. As Pagh states, “[It] enabl[es] stakeholders to understand a project easier and make key decisions” on various model options without draining natural resources.
Making Sustainability a Reality: CTC Software’s Role in Urban Planning
Though the vignette of Forma shows how Autodesk is pushing sustainability for urban planning forward, the company’s “Forma Forum” uncovers user frustration with linking the AI-driven application to Civil 3D. So, Forma is dually practical in highlighting the utility of and gaps in Autodesk’s current CIM software.
This is where CTC Software’s CIM Suites shine. Our add-ins, like the Earthwork Processor™, seamlessly integrate with Civil 3D, giving users the means to examine alternative designs under defined conditions. CIM isn’t just “BIM for Civil Engineering” to us–it’s a specialty. Learn more about CTC Software’s CIM Project and CIM Manager Suites for Civil 3D, so you can conserve costs and our shared ecosystem.
