Westwood is the community immediately adjacent to the UCLA campus on the south. The Westwood portion of the Virtual Los Angeles model is therefore very important because because it allows construction on campus to be analyzed in context.

When Westwood Village Center, a 110 million dollar shopping and theatre complex was proposed in Westwood, Kanner & Associates Architects and the Westwood Village Center Development Company commissioned a virtual reality model from the Urban Simulation Team @ UCLA to be used as both a design and community relations tool. The model proved to be extremely effective in community meetings because it made the proposed development easier to understand that traditional methods of architectural and urban representation. Viewers could easily 'place' themselves within the digitally accurate perspectival representation of the proposed development in the context of Westwood Village and better assess the project's impact. Results of the planning and design process are illustrated visually, allowing the client and community to become informed participants in the decision-making process.

On the basis of the model, the project underwent several design changes -- decisions that were based on the ability to 'see' the project in virtual reality. To accomodate proposed changes, the modelers built several variations and alternatives of the project for presentation to the community.