Smart city & urban analytics · UrbanSim Inc.

UrbanSim

Urban simulation platform modeling how land use, transportation, and policy choices interact to shape long-range regional growth.

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UrbanSim is an urban simulation platform, originally rooted in academic land-use modeling research, that projects how population, employment, real estate development, and transportation networks interact over multi-decade planning horizons under different policy scenarios. It is used mainly by metropolitan planning organizations and regional agencies for long-range plans, scenario modeling, and rapid site feasibility analysis, and the company reports its output has informed regional plans covering more than 80 million people across five continents, with a substantial base of academic citations reflecting its research origins. UrbanSim is cloud-hosted, delivered through a subscription-style commercial product with a client login portal rather than the fully open academic codebase from which it originated, and its site does not publish pricing; agencies engage through direct contact. It fits regional, long-range planning use cases rather than day-to-day city operations.

At a glance

Vendor UrbanSim Inc.
Pricing model Quote only
Free tier No
Deployment Cloud
Open source No
Best for Metropolitan planning organizations running long-range regional growth and land-use scenario analysis.

Pricing

No published pricing; regional agencies engage UrbanSim Inc. directly for scenario-modeling and feasibility analysis services.

Pricing has not been verified yet — see the vendor's site.

Features

  • Long-range land-use and transportation scenario modeling
  • Population and employment growth projections
  • Rapid site feasibility analysis
  • Regional plan scenario comparison
  • 3D visualization of development outcomes
  • Research-grounded modeling methodology

Integrations

Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026

Head to head

Alternatives

UrbanFootprint Geospatial decision-intelligence platform combining climate, community, and land-use data for resilience and urban-development planning. Remix Transit network planning and scheduling platform used by agencies to design, test, and build consensus around route changes. OpenGov Public-sector operating platform covering budgeting, permitting, procurement, and asset management for local and state government.

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Terms to know

Scenario modeling Building several named versions of a financial plan, such as best, base, and worst case, under different assumptions. Scenario planning A planning method that builds and stress-tests a small number of distinct, plausible futures rather than a single forecast. Land-use modeling Simulating how a region's land will be developed or change use over time, based on zoning, transport, and economic factors.

Related guides

How to choose a smart city and urban planning tool Asset management, government operations, transit planning and land-use simulation are separate jobs sold under one "smart city" label.