Best Web-Based Urban Planning Software of 2025

Design delightfully. Collaborate clearly. Build better buildings. The joy of drawing by hands. The ease and sophistication of 3D modeling software. Build sustainable buildings. Change the world. Hundreds of professionally-developed extensions at your fingertips. 3D Design. Document in 2D. Make your work easier. Your team and the 3D community will benefit from efficiency. Technology can make a great idea shine.

Orbital Stack, an AI and CFD web-based program, provides earlier qualitative guidance. It compares a wide range of land-use options and shapes, and highlights any red flags. It allows for climate-conscious, high performance developments that are not possible with traditional studies. Orbital Stack was developed by world-renowned experts in microclimate engineering and wind. It is a game-changer in the architecture and building design industry, providing our clients direct access for wind comfort and safety analysis as well as thermal comfort and shadowing analysis and cladding pressure simulations. This allows architects to quickly understand the climate effects of their proposed building designs and make better decisions, resulting in more resilient and high-performing projects.

Graphisoft Archicad – BIM by architects for architects: Design, visualize, document, and deliver projects of all sizes with Archicad’s powerful set of built-in tools and easy-to-use interface that make it the most efficient and intuitive BIM software on the market. With Archicad, you can focus on what you do best: design great buildings.

You can accelerate your ability to scale by analyzing your site in real-time with your design. This allows you to concentrate on what's most important: making a lasting impression on your communities. Quickly view your idea from all angles. Follow your instincts, draw your idea, and Giraffe will do the rest: overlaying data, querying, and automatically calculating your proof-of-concept. Data discovery allows you to view the most current local mapping data for your site. Giraffe can combine maps from any source and treat them as layers. It allows you to sort, group and analyze them. Engage your stakeholders by giving them a 360-degree view of the potential for a site. For increased community engagement, provide viewer access to the plan. This includes context and images. Giraffe allows you to create something you feel confident in and share it when it's ready. You can quickly review plans in a shared space.

VU.CITY is revolutionizing urban development by enhancing understanding, fostering collaboration, and building trust to transform ideas into tangible outcomes. With the ability to test concepts rapidly and visualize plans within an accurate, current framework, its features and data empower you to make informed decisions swiftly. Project teams can enhance collaboration, speed up decision-making processes, and effectively communicate the narrative of their proposals to engage stakeholders effectively. By providing a unified approach, VU.CITY enables architects, developers, planning consultants, and local authorities to collectively navigate the future of urban spaces. This collaborative environment allows everyone to contribute to creating an optimal city for all residents. Moreover, VU.CITY facilitates clear and efficient data visualization, organization, and analysis, ensuring that all participants can make quicker and more informed choices. Users can swiftly pinpoint and evaluate potential sites, while VU.CITY’s robust visualization tools and planning data empower you to refine and enhance your design projects successfully. The platform not only aids in planning but also promotes a shared vision for urban development among all stakeholders involved.

Hektar is an innovative cloud-based software designed for generative design, specifically aimed at assisting with early-stage urban planning, pre-design, and schematic design tasks. Created by Parametric, it empowers architects and urban planners to improve their projects by effectively managing the complexities involved in critical design phases. By leveraging evolutionary algorithms and artificial generative intelligence, the platform transforms user inputs from broad concepts into detailed, viable designs and accurate estimates. Hektar’s suite of tools incorporates both geometrical and geographical intelligence, enabling users to specify essential features like access points, exclusions for construction, and custom street layouts. Furthermore, it offers numerical controls, allowing for precise adjustments related to project elements such as building depth, greenery integration, and parking arrangements. The software begins processing intricate information about lighting and sun exposure early in the geometry pipeline, leading to the creation of informed design proposals that can adapt to various scenarios. In this way, Hektar not only enhances the design process but also fosters collaboration among multiple stakeholders involved in urban development projects.

PlanMan is a cloud-based project management tool tailored for architects and urban planners, offering a robust array of features aimed at optimizing administrative workflows and boosting efficiency. This software allows users to oversee an unlimited number of clients, projects, quotes, and invoices, all securely centralized in one location. With its integrated cloud storage, all project documents are easily accessible, eliminating reliance on traditional shared network drives. Each project includes a dedicated chat room for real-time communication, while client emails are conveniently organized within the respective projects for quick retrieval. Moreover, PlanMan provides a client portal that enables clients to access their inquiries, quotes, projects, documents, and invoices at any hour. Invoice payments can be processed online through seamless integrations with Stripe or GoCardless. The software also facilitates collaboration with co-consultants, the creation of quotes using project templates, and the generation of invoices for both clients and suppliers, ensuring a comprehensive management experience. Additionally, this platform simplifies the workflow for professionals in the field, making project oversight more efficient than ever before.

Reduce the time spent searching for information and juggling multiple tools by importing your site proposal to access all necessary data sets in one centralized location. Autodesk Forma (previously known as Spacemaker) equips you with the ability to make informed, data-driven decisions from the feasibility stage right through to site acquisition. Embrace a digital workflow from the outset to enhance both the quality and speed of the initial planning phase. Never compromise on your vision! Explore strategies to maximize density and livability without the long wait times typically associated with evaluating the quality of your site. With Autodesk Forma, you can refine your site proposal at any moment and quickly grasp the implications of any modifications. Don’t accept anything less than the best for your creative endeavors. This powerful tool allows you to explore and evaluate a wider range of options for your site than ever before. Furthermore, Autodesk Forma provides a collaborative platform where architects, developers, consultants, and municipalities can work together seamlessly, fostering innovation and efficiency in the planning process. This integration not only streamlines workflows but also encourages better communication among all stakeholders involved.

Challenges such as housing shortages, sustainability initiatives, and shifts in the economy are motivating urban areas to enhance their future planning strategies. With ArcGIS Urban, planning professionals and designers can work together seamlessly through a web-based 3D platform that facilitates scenario analysis and impact evaluations. This tool fosters a digital evolution in city and regional planning, promoting teamwork with community stakeholders and aligning various parties towards a more eco-friendly future. Users can create, monitor, and assess development initiatives using a digital twin representation of their city. By integrating building information modeling (BIM) and various 3D datasets throughout the project review stages, ArcGIS Urban provides a unified perspective of urban development regulations, significantly streamlining the building application process. Moreover, the platform simplifies the creation, modification, and management of land-use and zoning plans within an engaging 3D environment designed specifically for planners, ensuring a more efficient workflow and improved decision-making. This innovative approach not only enhances collaboration but also empowers communities to envision and shape their urban landscapes effectively.

Spacemaker is a user-friendly, collaborative cloud-based AI platform that allows architects, urban planners, and real estate developers to create exceptional site proposals. With the ability to generate 3D massing models of their projects and the surrounding areas through automated datasets, users can evaluate site designs and obtain precise assessments across more than 100 parameters, including factors like noise, wind, sunlight, and microclimates. This software enhances the early phases of planning and design by providing intuitive tools and generative design capabilities, facilitating thorough feasibility studies and conceptual designs. It includes ready-made datasets and advanced design tools for seamless 2D and 3D drafting while offering real-time calculations of floor areas and analyses related to noise, wind, solar energy, sunlight, and parking configurations. Furthermore, Spacemaker supports import and export functionalities in IFC and OBJ formats, automates area computations, conducts microclimate assessments, visualizes variations between different proposals, and generates apartment layouts, as well as view analyses, making it an essential tool for modern design projects. Overall, its robust features make it invaluable for professionals aiming for innovative and effective designs in their projects.

IGiS CAD is a powerful 2D drafting and 3D modeling software offered by Scanpoint Geomatics limited for professionals not only to design but also to plan, execute, and analyze their projects with precision. It meets the requirements of various disciplines including that of Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Mechanical, Urban Planning, and many more. The software is very easy to adapt to, high-speed performer, and also provides a seamless transition. It is also very cost-effective making it comparatively quite affordable

Effortlessly create stunning images, breathtaking panoramas, standard or 360° VR videos, and comprehensive client presentations in mere seconds! Designed for professionals in architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping, Twinmotion merges a user-friendly icon-based interface with the robust capabilities of the Unreal Engine. You can observe and modify your scene in real time, achieving the same high quality as the final rendering right from the start. With realistic lighting and shadowing based on physical principles, complemented by built-in global illumination, Twinmotion also provides over 600 PBR materials that adapt to your environment, along with features such as depth of field, lens flare, and vignetting to help you achieve the desired aesthetic effortlessly. No matter how intricate your project may be or what your prior CG background is, Twinmotion's straightforward and intuitive interface makes it remarkably easy to master and utilize. You can simply drag and drop lights, materials, and props; alter the season, weather, or time of day by adjusting a slider, transforming your creative vision into reality with unprecedented ease and speed. This powerful tool not only enhances productivity but also empowers users to bring their ideas to life like never before.

TestFit’s advanced algorithms enable you to generate building designs in mere seconds instead of taking weeks. Quickly determining the viability of a potential site is crucial, and TestFit provides you with a complete building model along with real-time financial insights, allowing you to close deals in minutes rather than extending the process over weeks. While feasibility studies are essential for securing projects, they often pose the difficulty of justifying payment for the effort involved. With TestFit’s parametric building configurator, you can streamline tedious tasks—such as allocating parking spaces—so you can focus on what truly matters. You require swift insights into site potential; however, the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Moving beyond traditional spreadsheets, TestFit allows you to visualize your project and present an exciting vision for your site. In just a few clicks, you can create your dream project and inspire prospects about the opportunities that await, making your proposals more compelling than ever.

Evaluate risks, gain insights into markets, and enhance decision-making by utilizing the most advanced and all-encompassing urban, climate, and community resilience data platform available. Examine current conditions and land usage at the parcel level with detailed urban, environmental, and transportation data. Investigate and analyze the intersections of vulnerabilities, consequences, and policy measures at various levels, including state, city, and neighborhood. Assess how climate change and natural disasters affect communities, resources, and infrastructure. Shape future developments with the latest advancements in urban and transportation planning, leveraging detailed parcel, mobility, and environmental data. Propel ESG reporting through impactful, data-driven evaluations of social and environmental consequences. Foster the creation of more resilient and equitable communities by utilizing focused climate, hazard, and urban vulnerability data, ensuring a comprehensive approach to community planning and sustainability. In doing so, communities can better prepare for the challenges posed by climate change and resource scarcity.

Maptionnaire is a hassle-free citizen engagement platform. It enables cities, consultancies, and research organizations to easily collect local insights and make GIS-backed decisions. At Maptionnaire’s core are map-based tools for designing questionnaires, collecting information, and analyzing data. Maptionnaire also helps planners and local governments to collaborate, report, and communicate about community engagement and participatory budgeting projects with citizens and stakeholders, as well as internally within the organization. Maptionnaire is a subscription-based service that comes in three plans, each containing a set of modules serving the different needs of effective community engagement. Maptionnaire software is browser-based and works with any device. The service always includes technical support and training. Maptionnaire’s story began when a group of urban planners discovered an emerging problem: there was an increasing need for urban planners to engage the public and to get real input from residents. Mapita Oy was founded in 2011 in Helsinki to provide a platform for anyone to create their own map-based surveys and improve community engagement.

A digital twin of your assets enhances decision-making by providing access to all pertinent data from any location. By consolidating your planning and operational data within an open digital twin, you can access it across various devices, including mobile phones, tablets, desktops, VR/AR devices, and large touchscreen displays. Engaging stakeholders becomes easier through crowdsourced ideas, allowing them to provide feedback via polls, surveys, and pins. You can also construct and visualize plans while creating and sharing 3D urban models to foster better communication among team members. With advanced data configuration capabilities, you can set up and maintain the system while integrating unlimited data sets from files, web services, or databases within OpenCities Planner. This innovative tool significantly enhances communication in infrastructure and urban development projects, leading to improved collaboration and project outcomes. Ultimately, OpenCities Planner empowers teams to bring their visions to life with greater efficiency and clarity.

As urbanization continues to expand rapidly across the globe, cities are facing increasing vulnerabilities to climate change. Significant threats to urban development and the well-being of city inhabitants include Urban Heat Islands (UHI), air pollution, and surface water flooding. It is imperative for local governments to implement strategies that address the challenges posed by urban expansion and climate change. GREENPASS serves as a valuable tool for planners, developers, and municipalities, providing guidance for optimal decision-making throughout the various stages of urban planning and development while addressing up to six urban challenges. This innovative platform enables users to visualize, measure, and compare the effects of green infrastructure and other structural interventions on the urban landscape. By offering tailored solutions for every phase of the urban planning process, from initial draft assessments to detailed execution, GREENPASS effectively supports sustainable urban growth. It employs preliminary analyses derived from machine learning database evaluations and standard analyses based on conventional BASIC simulations, ensuring comprehensive insights for planners.

CityEngine is a cutting-edge 3D modeling application that enables the rapid creation of expansive, interactive urban landscapes more efficiently than conventional modeling methods. The cities you design with CityEngine can reflect actual geographical information system (GIS) data or represent an imaginative urban setting from any time period. Instead of constructing each building separately, you can generate a large-scale city model in one go. CityEngine facilitates quick modifications to architectural styles or various aspects of your city, allowing you to explore numerous design options effortlessly. Additionally, you can produce 3D models to illustrate proposed modifications and alternative designs effectively. Your designs can be guided by 3D models that reflect land use regulations and other relevant conditions. You can easily present various design options to your team or stakeholders, soliciting valuable feedback. CityEngine seamlessly fits into your existing workflow, enabling you to incorporate key buildings or other assets to create a comprehensive 3D environment around them. You can also export your work back into high-end visualization tools or game engines for further refinement and presentation. This powerful software not only enhances creativity but also streamlines collaboration among project participants.

Tired of getting input from a small group of people? MetroQuest makes public participation fun. It's easy to engage between 2,000 and 10,000+ survey participants from a wide demographic, including those who are difficult to reach or traditionally underrepresented. Finally, you will get broad support for your plans. MetroQuest connects citizens and planners by facilitating public participation in complex planning projects. It is designed to educate and quickly gather reliable, informed input from the public. Participants can see the effects of their choices in minigames. This allows them to learn about planning alternatives, trade-offs, and other options based on their priorities. MetroQuest was designed to give decision-makers the confidence to make important public investment decisions. This means both quality and quantity - MetroQuest engages thousands of people from a wide demographic and collects trustworthy, quantifiable input to improve urban and transportation planning decisions.

Facilitate the planning and examination of urban development by analyzing the complex relationships among land use, transportation systems, economic factors, and environmental considerations. Investigate how various infrastructure decisions and policy implementations impact community results, including access for both motorized and non-motorized transport, housing affordability, levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and the preservation of open spaces and ecologically sensitive areas. Rapidly set up and initiate UrbanSim simulations utilizing the advantages of cloud-based technology. Provide actionable insights that are accessible to users, regardless of their technical proficiency. The UrbanSim block-level template is pre-equipped with employment, household, and socioeconomic data for nearly 400 Metropolitan Planning Organizations throughout the United States, alongside street networks sourced from OpenStreetMap to effectively calculate accessibility metrics. This comprehensive approach ensures that urban planners can make informed decisions that support sustainable growth and community well-being.

Enhance your understanding of your urban surroundings. For professionals involved in shaping the built environment, it is essential to grasp the implications, compromises, and intricacies of their decisions; Replica serves as a data platform that simplifies the comprehension of complex and ever-evolving urban systems. The Replica platform functions as a comprehensive enterprise data solution that provides vital insights into the built environment. Our analytical engine presents a holistic view of urban landscapes, encompassing aspects such as population dynamics, transportation patterns, economic activities, and land utilization. Among the offerings of Replica are weekly insights into mobility and economic trends, provided at a granular census-tract level, as well as detailed travel models that focus on specific regions and timeframes. Additionally, we deliver asset forecasting and impact analysis grounded in Places data. A notable example of our influence is the collaboration with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the largest public transit authority in the United States, which enlisted Replica's expertise to aid in its implementation efforts. By leveraging our platform, organizations can make informed decisions that ultimately shape the future of urban environments.