The following documents can be downloaded in PDF format for more information about INDEX (note large file sizes in some cases):

INDEX User Guides


• INDEX PlanBuilder User Guide (41 MB).
  
  
• INDEX Paint the Region Quick Reference Guide (2.2 MB).
  
  
• INDEX Insight Quick Reference Guide (5.7 MB).
  

Techniques & Methods


• Digital Charretting Handbook , July 2007 (1.6 MB). A handbook on the use of INDEX to enhance community planning charrettes for the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs.
  
  
• Method for Identifying LEED-ND Eligible Lands, November 2006 (940 KB). A methodology for inventorying and screening a region to identify lands that meet LEED-ND locational prerequisites.
  
  
• INDEX Insight: A Land-Use & Transportation Teaching Tool, September 2006 (1.5 MB). Description of an INDEX smart growth exercise tool for metropolitan Chicago with three learning locations: rural, suburban, and urban.
  
  
• Transect Map, December 2005 (30.3 MB). A methodology for calibrating and delineating a new urbanist transect on local geography for growth visioning and comprehensive planning.
  
  
• Enhancing Public Participation with Technology, 4th Annual Partners for Smart Growth Conference, January 2005 (1.7 MB). An overview of tools and techniques for improving citizen involvement through technology.

Case Studies


• Tampa, FL Carbon Footprint Reduction, June 2007 (320 KB). The climate change mitigation power of urban design is summarized for the neighborhood of Tampa Heights.
  
  
• Turning Dots into Details, Febuary 2007 (1.7 MB). Implementing Chicago's 2040 Regional Plan with INDEX and digital charreting for the 6th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference.
  
  
• INDEX Paint the Region: A Growth Visioning Tool, October 2006 (7.7 MB). Introduction to the tool as set up for Florida's Sustainable Emerald Coast Commission and its four-county region.
  
  
• Sacramento Pedestrian Master Plan, September 2006 (4.8 MB). Executive summary of award-winning plan prepared with INDEX modeling support.
  
  
• Growth Scenarios for Beijing 2020, June 2005 (1.5 MB). Technical report on the Beijing 2020 comprehensive plan update using INDEX modeling support.
  
  
• Paint the Region: Puget Sound Vision 2020+20, December, 2005 (2 MB). Puget Sound Regional Council summary of Seattle growth visioning with INDEX Paint the Region support.
  
  
• Chula Vista Global Warming Reduction Plan (450 KB). City of Chula Vista, California guidelines for evaluating development proposals with INDEX in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
  
  
• Kids Decide Where to Grow, November 2004 (1.1 MB). A summary of Community Planning Day in Portland, Oregon where 500 youngsters used INDEX to design their ideal neighborhood.
  
  
• South Weymouth, Massachusetts Case Study, U.S. EPA, September 2004 (700 kB). An 11 x 17 summary sheet illustrating six alternative redevelopment plans and INDEX scores for a 1,450-acre former military base.
  
  
• 210 Cities Paint Their Future With GIS, ESRI ArcNews, February 2004 (18 kB). This article describes the use of INDEX Paint the Town in one of the largest interactive GIS outreach projects conducted in the country for the Chicago regional planning agency NIPC.
  
  
• Interactive Neighbhorhood Atlas of Midtown, Sacramento Ca. (3.3 MB). An atlas of the Midtown neighborhood of Sacramento loaded in INDEX for benchmarking and scenario evaluations of urban design and transportation conditions.
  
  
• Cordova Community Plan, California APA, November 2003 (190 kB). This article describes the award-winning Cordova Community Plan prepared with INDEX assistance by Sacramento County.
  
  
• Case Study: Edgemoor, Delaware Transit Oriented Development Analysis, February 2003 (3.2 MB). Case study of Smart Growth INDEX evaluation of alternative neighborhood plans prepared by the Wilmington Delaware Area Planning Council.
  
  
• San Antonio Uses GIS Tool for Collaborative Planning, ESRI ArcNews, Winter 2001 (20 KB). This article describes the application of Smart Growth INDEX to San Antonio's Broadway Corridor by a coalition of stakeholders engaged in neighborhood redevelopment and multi-modal transportation improvements.