Creating 3D Scenes

As the world becomes a more crowded place, the need to view data in a 3D environment grows. With the infrastructure of modern urban areas expanding both up and down as well as outward, the importance of seeing what is above and below the ground is becoming critical to planning new projects, responding to emergencies, and managing the infrastructure.

ArcGIS Pro allows users to create 3D maps or Scenes natively. In the past, this required users to have extensions such as 3D Analyst for ArcGIS. The ability to create 3D Scenes natively in ArcGIS Pro opens up a whole new world and way to view your data quite literally.

This chapter will provide you with the skills to extrude data from above or below the ground to see things such as verifying whether there is an existing natural gas line that interferes with a new sewer line that is being planned, or whether the new office building that is being constructed will obstruct the mayor's view of the park. In short, ArcGIS Pro allows you to visualize your data in the same way as it exists in the real world.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• Understanding 3D Scenes
• Learning about elevations and how to use them