The Daily Dilemma of Urban Planners
As an urban planner, my work involves multiple fields such as urban renewal, district planning, and transportation optimization. Over the past decade, I have participated in more than 50 urban planning projects, with my footprints covering over 20 cities across the country.
In urban planning work, current situation survey is the most basic and important link. We need to collect a large amount of current situation information through on-site reconnaissance, photography, measurement, etc., to provide a basis for subsequent planning and design.
However, traditional current situation survey methods have many problems:
- Huge workload: A medium-sized district planning project often requires taking thousands of current situation photos
- Difficult information organization: Photos and location information are separate, requiring manual recording of each photo’s shooting location
- Unintuitive spatial relationships: 2D photos cannot intuitively show the spatial relationships between buildings, roads, green spaces and other elements
- Low public participation: When displaying planning schemes to the public, there is a lack of intuitive current situation comparison materials
- Difficult scheme comparison: The spatial impact of different planning schemes is difficult to intuitively display
I’ve always dreamed of a way to perfectly integrate current situation survey photos with geographic space, improving the efficiency and quality of planning work.
Discovering a Planning Tool: Photos to Google Earth
By chance, I saw someone recommend the “Photos to Google Earth/Ovi Maps” software on a planning industry forum. With a try-it-out attitude, I visited the official website (https://s.wtsolutions.cn/gps.html) and started my geographical planning journey.
First Use Experience
For the first time, I selected over 500 current situation photos from an ongoing urban renewal project for testing. The software operation is very simple:
- Open the software and select Chinese language
- Directly drag photos to the software interface
- The software automatically reads GPS information from photos
- Click the “Export to KMZ” button
- Import the generated KMZ file into Google Earth
When I opened the generated KMZ file in Google Earth, I was shocked by what I saw! All photos were accurately marked at their shooting locations. I could use Google Earth’s flight function to “fly” over the entire district and intuitively view the current situation of each plot. This 3D visualized current situation survey method is incomparable to traditional 2D photos.
Revolution in Planning Efficiency
1. Quickly Establish Geographic Current Situation Database
With Photos to Google Earth software, we no longer need to manually record each photo’s location information. The software automatically extracts GPS data from photos and marks photos at precise locations on the map.
Now, our current situation survey process has become more efficient:
- Use GPS-enabled cameras or phones to take photos during on-site reconnaissance
- After returning to the office, batch import photos into the software for processing
- Generate KMZ files for viewing and management in Google Earth
- Export to CSV or GeoJSON format as needed for use in other planning tools
In this way, we can establish a complete geographic current situation photo database in a short time, greatly improving survey efficiency.
2. Intuitively Display Spatial Relationships
In urban planning, spatial relationships are one of the core elements. With Photos to Google Earth software, we can:
- Intuitively view the relationship between buildings and roads on 3D maps
- Understand the connection between public spaces and surrounding plots
- Analyze the current situation of traffic nodes
- Evaluate the integrity of landscape corridors
This 3D visualization method allows us to more accurately understand the current spatial structure and provide more reliable basis for planning decisions.
3. Improve Public Participation
Urban planning requires extensive public participation, but traditional planning display methods are often too professional for ordinary people to understand. With Photos to Google Earth software, we can:
- Generate intuitive geographic current situation display materials
- Allow the public to “on-site” understand the current situation of the planning area through Google Earth
- Compare and display changes between current situation and planning schemes
- Collect public opinions and suggestions on specific locations
In a recent urban renewal project, we used this method for public participation, which increased participation by more than 40% and received a large number of valuable public opinions.
4. Multi-scheme Spatial Impact Comparison
In the planning and design process, we usually propose multiple alternative schemes. With Photos to Google Earth software, we can:
- Display the spatial impact of different schemes on the same map
- Compare and analyze the changes of each scheme to the current environment
- Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme
- Provide intuitive reference basis for final decisions
This visualized scheme comparison method not only improves decision-making efficiency but also reduces the subjectivity of decisions.
5. Project Management and Team Collaboration
Urban planning projects usually involve the collaboration of multiple professions. With Photos to Google Earth software, we can:
- Provide a unified geographic current situation information platform for the project team
- Designers of different professions can view and mark information on the same map
- Project leaders can intuitively understand project progress
- Communicate more effectively with clients and other stakeholders
In this way, our project management becomes more efficient and team collaboration becomes smoother.
Software Usage Tips
1. Ensure Device GPS Accuracy
The positioning accuracy of the software depends on the GPS accuracy of the shooting device. For important projects, it is recommended to use professional GPS cameras or external GPS receivers to obtain higher positioning accuracy.
2. Reasonably Organize Photos
For large projects, it is recommended to process photos in batches according to different functional districts or research themes, and generate multiple KMZ files for easier management and use.
3. Combine with Other Planning Tools
Photos to Google Earth software can seamlessly integrate with other planning tools:
- Import CSV format data into Excel to create detailed current situation survey tables
- Import GeoJSON format data into professional GIS software such as ArcGIS for more in-depth spatial analysis
- Combine KMZ files with planning scheme models for 3D visualized display
4. Upgrade to Professional Version
The free version can only process up to 6 photos, which is obviously insufficient for planning projects. Our team purchased the professional version (one-time payment, only 49 yuan), allowing us to process thousands of photos at once to meet the needs of large projects.
5. Establish Standardized Workflow
To fully utilize the advantages of the software, we have established a standardized workflow:
- Check device GPS function before on-site reconnaissance
- Ensure coverage of all important points during on-site shooting
- Process photos taken on the same day in a timely manner after each day ends
- Regularly update KMZ files to maintain the timeliness of current situation information
- Treat KMZ files as an important part of project archives
New Future of Urban Planning
Photos to Google Earth software has brought revolutionary changes to urban planning work. It has transformed traditional 2D current situation surveys into 3D geographic space visualization, greatly improving the efficiency and quality of planning work.
For urban planners, this software is undoubtedly an essential tool to improve work efficiency and result quality. It not only simplifies the workflow of current situation surveys but also provides more intuitive and reliable basis for planning decisions.
With the continuous development of technology, I believe Photos to Google Earth software will play an increasingly important role in the field of urban planning, contributing to the construction of better cities.
If you are also troubled by current situation survey problems in urban planning, why not try Photos to Google Earth software. It is simple to use, powerful, and will definitely bring unexpected changes to your planning work!
Visit the official website now: https://s.wtsolutions.cn/gps.html and start your geographical planning journey!