RootScape: Visual Analytics for Subsurface-Aware Urban Tree Planning

Abstract

We present RootScape, a browser-based visual analytics system fusing eight open geospatial datasets for Vienna into a depth-coherent 3D scene from tree crown to tunnel. Four coordinated views support the full planning workflow: a 3D Mapping environment with user-controlled temporal simulation of root-halo and crown growth, a Cross-Section view revealing subsurface geometry at true depth, a Viability Planner scoring eight species against ten substrate constraints with per-factor breakdown and conflict-year prediction, and a District Analytics view for strategic stress assessment. Retrospective validation against the Vienna Baumkataster surfaces 81 unexplained high-stress trees in our study area as inspection candidates and produces zero false high-risk alarms. RootScape is the first system to expose the invisible subsurface conflict between urban greenery and gray infrastructure in an interactive, open-data, planning-oriented context. The codebase and demo are publicly available at https://github.com/AngelikiGram/rootscape.