Applications of 3D Printing in Physical Geography Education and Urban Visualization

Through decreasing hardware costs and novel areas of application, three-dimensional (3D) printing has become exceedingly popular in recent years. Starting with a project focused on public education about urban hydrology, we explored the use of 3D-printed landscape models in a number of regional applications. We also experimented with the use of 3D-printed city models to engage users through urban visualization. Our goal was to examine the role of GIS in processing geospatial data for 3D printing and to explore novel applications in physical and urban geography education and outreach. Following a brief review of related literature, this article outlines data sources for digital elevation models, boundary datasets, and building footprints with height information and the processes used to transform these into 3D-printable data files. We then describe applications focused on urban watersheds and landforms in the area of Toronto, Canada, and illustrate city models for neighbourhoods of Toronto. We found that the 3D models were favourably received by diverse types of users, from hydrology experts to environmental studies students to the general public. The overwhelmingly positive feedback generated by this project suggests that 3D-printed landscape and city models are a worthwhile strategy for improving physical and urban geography education and outreach.