What If?

What If? is a GIS-based system that can be used to explore alternative community development scenarios and project future land use patterns and associated population, housing, and employment trends. It allows public officials and private citizens to examine the likely impacts of alternative policies for controlling urban growth, preserving agricultural land, or expanding public infrastructure in easy-to-understand maps and tables. It is designed to be used by non-technical people in public forums, allowing communities to use currently available GIS information to support community-based dialogue and collaborative decision-making. What If? can be used to conduct a land suitability analysis, project future land use demand, prepare a land use plan, and allocate this demand to suitable locations.