The LEAM Planning Portal was developed precisely in response to the limitations of
traditional comprehensive planning approaches. Instead of producing a
one-time document at great expense, the Planning Portal is a dynamic tool that
manages data and scenarios, facilitates cooperation, and allows for simple, ongoing updating.
How does it work?
The Planning Portal is a fully localized, web-based system that provides the
capability of integrating all information leading up to plan-making, and
in fact, can even become the plan. Based on open source Plone and customized by LEAMgroup with several submodules, The Portal manages all types of data and potential development scenarios, displays data and results,
facilitates cooperation and discussion, and can be used to reach and educate
the public. With the DesktopLEAM module, it can even be used to
directly access and run your land use and transportation models (and
soon, other models) and review, analyze, and share the results.
The Planning Portal's users are urban planners, who can use the
system to store all their regional data and information, modeling
results, and reports. They can use the system to conduct their analyses
and studies. Portal's users are also policymakers, who can
use the system to review the conclusions and recommendations of their
planners. The system is set up to help them reach and, be able to stand
behind, well-informed decisions.
The system was designed to be accessible and usable by non-computer
experts with the advantage of still being part of the open source Web 2.0
community. This provides access to
developers who are motivated by professional challenge and peer
approval over
the bottom line, resulting in more stable, reliable, and maintainable
software. You have the opportunity of being the first to try new
products and add-ons at no extra cost. There are no licensing costs
involved, and you have direct access to the source code, should that be
desirable reading.
