{"id":2977677,"date":"2026-08-27T08:16:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2977677"},"modified":"2026-08-27T16:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:34:07","slug":"how-to-integrate-drawings-from-autocad-in-arcgis-urban","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/urban\/aec\/how-to-integrate-drawings-from-autocad-in-arcgis-urban","title":{"rendered":"How to Integrate Drawings from AutoCAD in ArcGIS Urban"},"author":139801,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23771,615021,37141],"tags":[310972,542202,406712,35121],"industry":[],"product":[36551,409602],"class_list":["post-2977677","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-gis","category-aec","category-decision-support","tag-aec","tag-arcgis-for-autocad","tag-arcgis-urban","tag-autocad","product-arcgis-online","product-urban"],"acf":{"short_description":"Integrate AutoCAD drawings into your ArcGIS Urban workflows using the ArcGIS for AutoCAD plugin.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Imagine a typical urban planning project where planners, urban designers, and consultants are collaborating on the latest development proposal. While ArcGIS Urban serves as the shared platform for planning and scenario evaluation, much of the design information continues to be created and exchanged in Autodesk AutoCAD DWG format. Updated building footprints, parcel layouts, and site plans regularly move between teams, creating a constant need to transfer data between CAD and GIS environments.<\/p>\n

For ArcGIS Urban users, integrating DWG data is not a straightforward task. The process often requires additional preparation and validation steps to ensure information is accurately represented in ArcGIS Urban.<\/p>\n

With ArcGIS for AutoCAD<\/a>, however, this workflow becomes significantly simpler. The integration is precise, efficient, and easy to manage, allowing planning and design teams to move data from AutoCAD into ArcGIS Urban with ease.<\/p>\n

In this article, you will learn how to streamline the connection between CAD and GIS workflows by bringing your 2D drawings into 3D in ArcGIS Urban using ArcGIS for AutoCAD. You will also learn how to evaluate metrics such as the floor space distribution by usage type, analyze shadow cast, or compare against zoning regulation.<\/p>\n

Try it with your own data:
\nThis example demonstrates a complete CAD-to-GIS workflow that you can follow using your own AutoCAD drawings. If you’re new to ArcGIS for AutoCAD, download the app<\/a> and follow along to see how easily parcel and building footprint data can be brought into ArcGIS Urban for planning and scenario evaluation.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Prepare data in AutoCAD<\/h1>\n

To use CAD data in ArcGIS Urban, it must be correctly positioned in the real world. This starts with assigning a coordinate system and ensuring the drawing is accurately located. ArcGIS for AutoCAD provides tools to define a coordinate system, adjust the drawing’s location when needed, and verify its placement using Esri basemaps.<\/p>\n

1. Set up the AutoCAD file<\/h2>\n

For simplicity, our AutoCAD example starts with only two layers: parcels and building footprints.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2977679,"id":2977679,"title":"00_Footprints and Parcels starting point_Crop","filename":"00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","filesize":286523,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/urban\/aec\/how-to-integrate-drawings-from-autocad-in-arcgis-urban\/00_footprints-and-parcels-starting-point_crop","alt":"","author":"139801","description":"","caption":"","name":"00_footprints-and-parcels-starting-point_crop","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2977677,"date":"2026-07-18 15:06:26","modified":"2026-08-27 22:03:27","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1287,"height":856,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","medium-width":392,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","large-width":1287,"large-height":856,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","1536x1536-width":1287,"1536x1536-height":856,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","2048x2048-width":1287,"2048x2048-height":856,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop-699x465.jpg","card_image-width":699,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00_Footprints-and-Parcels-starting-point_Crop.jpg","wide_image-width":1287,"wide_image-height":856}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"