Processing BIM and GIS Models in Theory and Practice

Dear Colleagues,

Today, in the digital era, numerous coordinated actions have already been taken on national and international levels to ensure access to, the visualization of, and the possibly of the download of publicly available digital data. In particular, experts state that geospatial information, which is very often in the charge of public authorities, is of high importance when it comes to exchange between the public and private sectors. Such interaction is often required for large-scale interventions (e.g., the mitigation of climate change’s effects, natural hazards, or accidents) but still has an important impact on the local built environment (e.g., the UHI effect, the risk assessment and identification of damage, securing interventions for infrastructures and buildings, etc.). Improved access to digital information within better-integrated platforms that consider data at different scales should be fostered for several reasons: (i) to avoid the multiplication of large quantities of already-existing information; (ii) to create applications and services that will facilitate both expert and non-expert users; (iii) to allow a more holistic approach to decision making during emergency situations and ordinary management.

In this context, BIM and GIS integration has a crucial role. Building information modeling (BIM) and geographic information systems (GIS) are now used in a variety of applications. Although based on different technologies and developed for addressing different practical problems, the acronyms share a common “I” (information) and a common purpose: the better access, use, and understanding of digital information. However, several technical and practical issues need to be considered. This Special Issue aims at collecting both theoretical and application-oriented manuscripts dealing with the integrated use of BIM and GIS. In fact, both technologies can be simultaneously exploited to solve interconnected challenges, in which data processing sometimes requires moving the analysis from and to specific software packages and/or implementing new solutions. The key idea is to demonstrate improved interoperability with the consequent generation of more holistic workflows through the simultaneous use of BIM and GIS data and tools.

This Special Issue aims at demonstrating methods, case studies, theoretical approaches, and effective projects where the BIM–GIS integration challenge has been faced. The possible topics include but are not limited to:

• Infrastructure design and management;
• Risk and hazard assessment, mitigation, and management;
• Smart cities;
• Technology infrastructures and facilities;
• Multiscale projects;
• Semantic integration in the BIM and GIS domains;
• Urban regeneration and nature-based solutions;
• Facility management and urban planning.

Dr. Luigi Barazzetti
Dr. Mattia Previtali
Dr. Branka Cuca
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• BIM
• GIS
• infrastructure
• urban
• risks
• hazards