**6.3 "Openreblock" platform**

"Openreblock" visualizes access to essential services like water, energy, and sanitation at a neighborhood parcel level. This web-based platform requires user input, in order to operate and uses an algorithm to evaluate the topology of the blocks and the continuity of the street network, identify the parcels that do not have access to a public street, and then propose the least disruptive reorganization of a cluster of slum blocks, so that each parcel gets access to a street. It provides the missing connectivity that reduces travel distances and essentially transforms the parcels configuration to commonly known patterns of city building blocks that have access to streets on all sides. The resulting map reflects the changes in the physical

#### *Sustainability in Urban Planning and Design*

layout of the blocks. The solution corresponding to the absolute minimum number of new streets could be impractical for the citizens themselves for the reason that it does not offer enough flexibility; however, it offers a good basis that is easily perceived by the users, in which they can develop and customize further. The process has been enriched by additional functionality that allows the users to exclude streets from the calculation and customize their priorities prior to the calculation based on what reflects their needs best. This is the kind of local knowledge that emerges from processes that allow active user engagement, and its value is immense for the reformation of the community.

The input required is a map of the properties in the community in a shape file format (.shp). The design system is articulated by specific front-end and back-end processes (**Figure 18**). The front-end processes are related to the display of the website based on user demand, which constitute the User Interface, and the back-end processes are related to the background processes needed for the calculation, such as reclustering calculation, queuing of tasks being performed, registering a user in a database, and creating a user profile. As the calculations could potentially demand a

#### **Figure 18.**

*"Openreblock" design system of processes (figure was created by the author).*

#### **Figure 19.**

*Cape Town example. Process of "reblocking." New road network is gradually formed (graphic design by Stamen design).*

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*Human-Centered Approaches in Urban Analytics and Placemaking*

resilience to climate change and socioeconomic development.

**7. Conclusions**

ing social cohesion in the urban context.

it was demonstrated on the first case study.

large amount of time to complete, asynchronous task queue/job queue "Celery" has been utilized to queue the tasks in real-time operation. "Openreblock" front-end processes use "Leaflet" and "Mapbox" libraries for the map display, whereas the

In order to make the process of the calculation interactive, the steps are being displayed during the calculation, so the user can spot the new paths that are being generated gradually during the calculation. The user can also access and download any of the intermediate steps of the process. The algorithm estimates the location of existing paths and associated construction costs for new streets, making discussion, and comparison of alternative plans easy. It produces a new map that allows each home or workplace to have an address and to obtain urban services (**Figure 19**). Residents can adjust the tool to their needs by prioritizing processes and use the outcome as an alternative proposal for future replanning, in order to oppress the local government to consider their proposal. Users can optimize the process based on their priorities, such as cost minimization, exclusion of certain paths from the calculation, because they clash with landmarks and width of the new road network for circulation convenience. This allowance for customization is key for local

Due to the staggering rise of technology, our ability to generate data far exceeds our capacity to comprehend the complexity that is entailed in the process of allocating the right kinds of data, analyzing it and finding meaningful connections between different data sets. As this has become one of the biggest challenges that planners are facing, it is important to employ innovative strategies and attempt to go beyond the conventions in data diagnostics. The core of this paper is devoted to an examination of direct or indirect user participation in understanding and pursu-

In recent theoretical and policy debates concerning social correlation with the built environment, human participation has re-emerged as an important asset that could provide insight regarding the dynamics of urban space. In this context of renewal of interest in the local, social interactions, the deployment of notions such as, subjectivity, human scale, and temporality offer a critical review of constrained and narrow-sided methods of visualizing the dynamics of urban space solely from a top-down perspective, that of planners and stakeholders. Beyond its sociopolitical implications, participatory approach in urban planning aims to establish a framework toward a more resilient and sustainable environment that benefits both researchers and citizens. From the researcher's perspective, the ability to visualize and analyze peoples desires and opinions that reflect their background allows for a culturally enhanced database that captures their common aspects and differences as

The first case study aims to provide a calibrated understanding of the multiple grains of constructed space through top-down and bottom-up methodologies, as well as to offer a tool of visualizing dynamical characteristics of the urban environment. The research balances the traditional census data analysis with more dynamic layers of collective platforms and crowdsourcing. Whichever methodology is considered more or less descriptive of the reality, it is worth examining all the conduits and corridors available to us, by which changes in the urban context are being delivered. The results of the three surveys were overlapped and weighted in order to produce a series of maps at different scales that visualize gentrification in the Bay Area. Each method described presents certain advantages. The census data analysis provides an

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89675*

back-end processes are built in "Jango" library.

*Human-Centered Approaches in Urban Analytics and Placemaking DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89675*

large amount of time to complete, asynchronous task queue/job queue "Celery" has been utilized to queue the tasks in real-time operation. "Openreblock" front-end processes use "Leaflet" and "Mapbox" libraries for the map display, whereas the back-end processes are built in "Jango" library.

In order to make the process of the calculation interactive, the steps are being displayed during the calculation, so the user can spot the new paths that are being generated gradually during the calculation. The user can also access and download any of the intermediate steps of the process. The algorithm estimates the location of existing paths and associated construction costs for new streets, making discussion, and comparison of alternative plans easy. It produces a new map that allows each home or workplace to have an address and to obtain urban services (**Figure 19**). Residents can adjust the tool to their needs by prioritizing processes and use the outcome as an alternative proposal for future replanning, in order to oppress the local government to consider their proposal. Users can optimize the process based on their priorities, such as cost minimization, exclusion of certain paths from the calculation, because they clash with landmarks and width of the new road network for circulation convenience. This allowance for customization is key for local resilience to climate change and socioeconomic development.
