City Information Modeling and Its Applications: A Review

Over the past few decades, there has been a growing interest in the field of City Information Modeling (CIM). CIM is generally considered a digital representation of a city which can empower the identification of optimal approaches to enhance urban environments. CIM is extensively used in various applications, primarily under the umbrella of smart cities. This chapter first provides a brief review of the history and definition of CIM. Subsequently, the structure and modules of CIM are discussed. Based on the literature review, it is evident that integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) is a widely adopted approach for CIM generation. This is because BIM and GIS both model spatial information, with BIM focusing on indoor modeling and GIS emphasizing outdoor environment, thus complementing each other effectively. To investigate the feasibility of CIM applications based on BIM–GIS, the main BIM–GIS integration CIM applications are further reviewed in this chapter. It revealed that these applications include but are not limited to urban planning, urban facility management, urban flood hazard assessment, route and evacuation planning, underground space development and underground utility management, building energy analysis and management, and more.