About the Client

A municipal corporation, aiming to implement a 3D-enabled smart city initiative by improving environmental visibility through data-backed urban forestry management. The client needed a complete digital inventory of trees within city limits to support sustainability, planning, and research goals.

The Challenge

The client lacked a centralized system for monitoring and managing urban greenery. Traditional methods were inefficient and could not provide precise data for tree health, species identification, or long-term change detection.

Key challenges included:

• No geo-referenced inventory of trees within urban boundaries
• Lack of periodic health and species monitoring
• Inability to support policy and planning decisions with accurate, real-time environmental data
• No digital integration between survey data, web dashboards, and administrative zones

The Solution

We designed and executed a city-wide GPS-based tree census, supported by mobile and web applications. The solution delivered a high-resolution urban forestry database and a live dashboard for environmental oversight.

Key solution elements included:

• GPS-enabled tree mapping with ±5m accuracy
• Mobile app for field surveys capturing species, height, girth, canopy size, and health status
• Integration with GIS server and existing city base maps
• Expert validation by botanists, taxonomists, and environmental specialists
• Web application with interactive dashboard for report generation and pattern analysis
• Baseline mapping supported by high-resolution satellite imagery for change detection
• Long-term plan for repeat surveys every 5 years to support comparative analysis

The Impact

The tree census project delivered measurable improvements in city planning and environmental management:

• Created a centralized, GIS-based digital tree inventory
• Enabled real-time environmental data access for decision-makers and researchers
• Supported the management of invasive species and endangered tree populations
• Enabled tree pattern studies, health trend tracking, and canopy expansion analysis
• Provided a scalable foundation for smart city sustainability and biodiversity initiatives

Key Project Highlights

• Requirement analysis and system design documentation
• GIS infrastructure deployment and commissioning at the data center
• Android-based mobile app and Hexagon-powered web application development
• Capacity building and training of forestry authorities
• End-to-end operations, maintenance, and support of the integrated GIS platform