Visioning and Visualization

In 2006, ACP Visioning & Planning and the Environmental Simulation Center teamed with Wilson Okamoto to develop the Kona Community Development Plan – a vision for more sustainable growth patterns on the western coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. A critical component was citizen engagement, and special emphasis was placed on visualizing options and on using images to engage the public in making informed choices. The marriage of citizen engagement and technology to help visualize different scenarios forms the basis of this site, which is a more extensive description of a case study highlighted in the Lincoln Institute’s publication "Visioning and Visualization: People, Pixels, and Plans" The site can be explored on its own, or as a companion to the book illustrating key concepts with added illustrations, charts, and graphics.

Visioning and Visualization
People, Pixels, and Plans

Authors: Kwartler, Michael, and Gianni Longo
Publication Date: April 2008

$35.00 Click here to purchase

The process of planning Kona’s future growth began as residents became increasingly concerned about the loss of significant natural, cultural, and agricultural resources. The community also had difficulty providing the infrastructure necessary to accommodate growth. Kona is a popular tourist destination that saw robust growth, increasing in population from 29,942 residents in 1990 to an estimated population of 41,941 in 2005. Between 1990 and 2000 the number of new housing units -- many of them second homes -- increased at a rate more than twice the population increase, from 7,947 housing units in 1990 to 13,330 in 2000. With land in Kona being developed at a rate nearly 4 times the population growth and almost 2 times the housing unit growth, the need was clear for a more rational plan for land consumption and infrastructure needs.