Consulting company PwC has prepared a detailed development masterplan using spatial data analysis for the Tbilisi Sea area of the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi.

The project used spatial data analysis to determine the selection and location of investments in developing tourist, hospitality and retail facilities alongside the city’s main water reservoir. The geodata-driven urban design project is the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.

During the course of the project, PwC analysts combined hundreds of data layers such as demographic information, current city infrastructure and real estate value distribution to determine the optimal location of developments. The many data layers used during analysis were then combined into a three-dimensional visualisation of the area.

Geodata-driven urban planning allowed PwC to present city and national government officials with a comprehensive masterplan that takes into account all the key factors affecting the future success of investments in development.

The masterplan involves construction of dozens of initiatives with different functions and minimum interference in the natural environment.

The Government selected the Tbilisi Sea area for development - the major land plot with the potential to develop along socio-cultural, traditional, and environmental lines for the benefit of the local area and the city at large.

A detailed geospatial model of the city of Tbilisi was created for the purposes of the design works together with the architectural firm Chapman Taylor. It includes, among other things, a full map of public transport, a road model, a demographic profile, an infrastructure map and natural environment components.

This made it possible to determine what features were missing around the area being analysed. On this basis, experts proposed business initiatives for the Tbilisi Sea area land use, along with financial models for every project, evaluating its potential and profitability.

A geospatial model was also prepared for every initiative, presenting the optimum location for the initiative within the area being analysed. The model took into account more than 300 spatial variables, including coastline length, access to infrastructure, population distribution, availability of road networks and an elevation model.

The implementation phase of the project will begin in 2017, with final completion planned for 2028.