Open Menu
Boston – Sasaki has launched a new urban planning online tool to help planners better understand density. The global design firm’s tool, known as Density Atlas, helps compare density in urban planning across worldwide contexts such as urban centres, college campuses and local neighbourhoods.

The global design firm Sasaki has announced the launch of Density Atlas, an online platform to help planners, urban designers, developers and students have a better understanding of density, writes the online news site ArchDaily. The tool aims to clarify what density is, and to create significant improvements around urban planning, development and design.

Density Atlas explores the limitations of density and defines a more standardised set of metrics for understanding and comparing density across different global contexts, such as in urban centres, college campuses or communities under development. It also helps understand the density of particular regions, cities or neighbourhoods. 

According to the article, there are different types of density, including population density, which refers to the number of people living in an area, or coverage density, which is the percentage of a site covered by buildings. It explains that “height by itself is not density. A tall building is not necessarily dense. It may cover only a small portion of the site, or it may have very few residents." The term also extends to dwelling unit density and floor area ratio, or the ratio of a built area to the site area.

Sasaki seeks to define the future through collective, contextual and values-driven projects, following the belief that “better design comes through open exchange”.