Welcome, Planner: Your First Steps in the Digital City

Welcome to the neighborhood! Whether you are a lifelong resident with a vision for your street or a curious visitor exploring a new city, this guide is designed to help you find your footing. Our platform transforms complex urban planning into an intuitive, 3D experience. In this section, we will show you how to locate your home on the map, master your creative tools, and ensure your computer is ready for high-speed city building.

Locating Your Street and Neighborhood

The first step to becoming a digital planner is finding your "canvas." Our map is synced with real-world geographical data, allowing you to jump straight to the places you care about most.

• Smart Search: Use the search bar at the top of the screen to type in a specific address, a famous landmark, or just your zip code.

• GPS "Find Me": Click the crosshair icon to instantly center the map on your current physical location (make sure to "Allow" location services in your browser).

• Saving Your Home Base: Once you find your neighborhood, click the "Heart" icon to save it to your dashboard so you can return to your project with one click.

The Toolbox Tour: From Hammers to Trees

Once you’ve arrived, it’s time to explore the interface. We’ve organized our tools to be as simple as a building game, but as powerful as professional software.

• The Navigation Wheel: Use your mouse or touch screen to rotate the view 360 degrees, tilt the camera for a street-level perspective, or zoom out for a "God view" of the entire city.

• The Demolition Hammer: This tool allows you to "ghost" existing buildings. Don't worry—you aren't actually knocking anything down in real life! It simply clears the digital space for your new ideas.

• The Tree Brush & Infrastructure: Located in the bottom tray, these icons allow you to drag elements like oak trees, park benches, or bike paths directly onto the map.

Performance Tips for a Smooth Experience

Rendering a 3D city in real-time requires a bit of "heavy lifting" from your device. To ensure you have the smoothest experience without any lag, follow these quick tips:

• Browser Choice: For the best results, we recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Edge, or Safari.

• Close Extra Tabs: If the map feels slow, try closing other heavy programs or browser tabs to free up your computer's memory (RAM).

• Graphics Settings: If you are on an older laptop or tablet, click the "Gear" icon in the settings menu and toggle "High Performance Mode" to "Lite Mode" to keep the map moving fast.