Uncovering the Best 6 CityCAD Alternatives for Urban Design and Masterplanning
CityCAD is a powerful urban design software tool specifically crafted for conceptual 3D masterplanning, enabling users to quickly sketch layouts, adjust building sizes, and analyze critical metrics like dwelling numbers and parking requirements. While CityCAD excels in early-stage integrated analysis, its focus on conceptual design means users often seek alternatives for more detailed scheme design, advanced features, or different pricing models. This article explores the top 6 CityCAD alternative solutions that can cater to various urban planning and 3D modeling needs.
Top 6 CityCAD Alternatives
Whether you're looking for advanced procedural generation, seamless integration with other tools, or a more budget-friendly option, these alternatives offer diverse capabilities to enhance your urban design workflow.
CityEngine
CityEngine is a commercial standalone software available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, making it a robust 6 CityCAD alternative for professional users in entertainment, architecture, urban planning, and GIS. It stands out with its powerful 3D modeling, gaming, and procedural modeling features, allowing for highly detailed and complex urban environment generation beyond CityCAD's conceptual scope.
Suicidator City Generator
Suicidator City Generator (SCG) is an excellent free and open-source 6 CityCAD alternative, implemented as a Blender3D script. Available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, it excels in automatically creating entire 3D modern cities in seconds by adjusting parameters. Its focus on 3D modeling, gaming, and procedural modeling makes it a powerful tool for quick conceptualization and detailed scene creation within the Blender ecosystem.
Modelur
Modelur is a commercial 3D application for parametric urban design, operating as a plug-in for Trimble SketchUp on Mac and Windows. While specific features weren't detailed in the provided data, its integration with SketchUp makes it a strong 6 CityCAD alternative for users already familiar with or preferring SketchUp's interface for urban planning and design, offering a parametric approach to building and block generation.
Building Generator
Building Generator is a free procedural building generator script specifically designed for 3D Studio Max (Windows). This 6 CityCAD alternative is ideal for users deeply embedded in the Autodesk 3ds Max workflow, offering robust 3D modeling and procedural modeling capabilities to quickly generate a wide variety of buildings, complementing or extending CityCAD's early-stage outputs for more detailed visualization.
Blended Cities
Blended Cities is a free and open-source city generator for Blender, available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. As a 6 CityCAD alternative, it offers similar procedural generation capabilities but within the open-source Blender ecosystem. It excels at quickly creating large amounts of streets and buildings with various shapes, making it a versatile tool for 3D modeling and gaming, especially for users who prefer open-source software.
ghostTown
ghostTown is a free city generator and tool for creating urban environments, available for Windows users working with Autodesk 3ds Max. This 6 CityCAD alternative offers flexibility with lopoly or highpoly buildings, a basic road tool, and easy material handling, making it suitable for both quick conceptualizations and more detailed urban scene creation, particularly for those in the gaming or architectural visualization fields using 3ds Max.
Ultimately, the best 6 CityCAD alternative depends on your specific project requirements, existing software ecosystem, and desired level of detail. Explore these options to find the perfect fit for your urban design and masterplanning needs.