Infoterra launched “Skape”, a new 3D city mapping service designed for architects, planners, local authorities and surveyors. Created and developed by Infoterra, a leading provider of geographic information products and services, Skape enables users to manipulate urban landscapes online by combining high resolution 3D textured city models with 2D mapping and terrain data.

Through Skape, users can access major UK cities, enabling urban planners to rapidly develop highly detailed architectural models and save on both time and costs. With Skape, new buildings can be imported into a city and viewed in context with their surroundings, whilst existing buildings can be instantly removed and replaced. The high level of accuracy means that varying building textures, street furniture, light and sun shadowing at different times of the day and unlimited vantage points can be observed from anywhere in this online environment.

Skape launches with in-depth 3D coverage of major UK cities including London (centre), Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Southampton, Brighton, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. By the end of 2010 Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Cardiff, Edinburgh and additional London coverage will be added to Skape’s city coverage.

Skape has already been used by Bournemouth Borough Council’s planning department to scope out a potential new regeneration project, allowing stakeholders to see a far more realistic visual concept than would have been possible previously, in the form of a flythrough of Bournemouth centre and 16 development sites.

For more information please visit
www.infoterra.co.uk