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Explained: How BMC is
creating a 3D digital map
of Mumbai city
Jul 26, 2022 08:43AM
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started the
process of creating a three-​d imensional digital model of
Mumbai city after trying the project on pilot basis for South
Mumbai’s Worli area in September last year. What is 3D mapping,
and why is the BMC undertaking the project?
What is 3D mapping?
The process of 3D mapping will create a digital map of Mumbai’s
buildings, roads, bridges, underpasses, water bodies, modes of
transport, traffic islands apart from its open spaces, civic
amenities and slums. This map will have a 360-​degree panoramic
street view.
This is the first time the project is being done pan-​Mumbai. In
September 2021, BMC completed 3D mapping of the Worli area,
largely covered under the G/​South administrative ward of the
civic body.
How much area will the map project cover?
While Mumbai city is approximately 480 sq km, the project will be
undertaken for an area of approximately 500 sq km, considering
buffer space required while using mapping tools.
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The civic body has invited a request for proposal (RFP) for the
project, welcoming ideas from consultants and experts to refine
the scope of the project. It will then appoint a third party as a
contractor to carry out the project with a timeline of 18 months.
As part of the project, BMC will also map changes in the city year-​
on-​year for the next three years once the project is live.
How will it help?
Highlighting the uses of the project, BMC in its request for
proposal has said, “While the world we live in is 3-dimensional in
nature, planning and development activities encompassing urban
governance, city infrastructure upgrades are still being carried
out on 2D maps. To meet the demands of cities in the 21st
century, it is imperative that urban governments can visualise
cities in 3D for comprehensive 360-degree views, undertake
simulations and conduct detailed analysis on the data, all of which
is inefficient and close to impossible on archaic 2D maps.”
The 3D map will be uploaded on to a private cloud by the civic
body, which can then be used by the administration for
infrastructure and development planning, disaster management
and response mobilisation, and environment analysis. Change
detection can be used for finding unauthorised development.
Since it is a ‘digital twin’ of Mumbai city, created in real time, it will
enable simulations for gauging impact areas of projects,
disasters, and urban governance interventions.
The BMC will also run simulations for scenarios such as disaster
management, work of the Mumbai fire brigade, planning on
existing roads and bridges, estimation and collection of property
tax, development planning, and encroachment detection.
What tools will be used for the project?
Surveys which will create the map include aerial photogrammetry,
which enables mapping of distances and measurements between
objects; Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey; and
change detection with the help of geospatial technology, which
includes use of geographic information system (GIS), remote
sensing (RS) and global positioning system (GPS).
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mumbai-city-3d-
model-mapping-explained-8052299/