Procedural point cloud and mesh editing for urban planning using blender

Gorup, Gorazd (author), Lesar, Žiga (author), Marolt, Matija (author), Bohak, Ciril (author)

Urban planning has become increasingly complex, necessitating the use of digitized data, large-scale city scans, and advanced tools for planning and development. Recent advancements in open-source 3D modeling software—Blender, have introduced powerful procedural editing tools like geometry nodes alongside robust mesh and curve manipulation capabilities. These features position Blender as a viable and cost-effective alternative to proprietary solutions in urban planning workflows. This study identifies common requirements, tasks, and workflows associated with cityscape transformation and visualization, implementing them within Blender’s environment. Documented working examples are provided, including procedural editing, cloud painting, and mesh transformation operations, demonstrating Blender’s versatility. To evaluate its practicality and performance, we conducted a comparative analysis with the Rhinoceros Grasshopper, a widely used tool in urban planning. Metrics such as computational efficiency, workflow adaptability, and user experience were analyzed across multiple scenarios involving point cloud processing, mesh editing, and visualization tasks. Finally, we suggest further potential improvements aided by Blender’s powerful scripting framework.

• Language: English
• Keywords: procedural modeling, point cloud processing, computational design, open-source GIS, parametric urban design
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FRI - Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 1-21
• Numbering: Vol. 14, iss. 4, art. 815
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-168461
• UDC: 004:711.4
• ISSN on article: 2073-445X
• DOI: 10.3390/land14040815
• COBISS.SI-ID: 232037891
• Publication date in RUL: 14.04.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Land
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2073-445X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523256345

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: proceduralno modeliranje, procesiranje oblaka točk, računsko načrtovanje, odprtokodni GIS, parametrično urbanistično načrtovanje