CityOverview
Control your city's airspaceUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Low-Altitude Economy Calculator
A municipal planning and decision tool for governing UAV activity, risk, and economic impact in your airspace
Why cities use this
Federal policy enables UAV operations, but cities remain responsible for public safety, infrastructure protection, zoning, ordinances, property rights, and community impact. This calculator helps municipalities quantify UAV activity and understand its operational, financial, and governance implications before approving or scaling operations.
Quick start
- 1Start with General InputsSet shared assumptions you’ll use across scenarios.
- 2Model one or more use casesEnter scenario inputs for the operations you’re considering.
- 3Review outputs and comparisonsUse results to inform policy, planning, and approvals.
What this calculator helps you do
Model scenarios consistently so you can compare assumptions and outcomes across use cases.
Model UAV operations
Define operational assumptions in a consistent way.
Set fleet size, flight frequency, dwell time, altitude ranges, and coverage areas to describe how UAV operations would function in practice.
Calculate low-altitude airspace capacity
Understand expected airspace use.
Estimate how UAV activity contributes to airspace load, overlap, and congestion at altitudes where local coordination and enforcement apply.
Assess public safety and infrastructure pressure
Evaluate operational impacts on the city.
Examine how higher UAV activity levels may affect emergency response coordination, law enforcement oversight, and exposure of roads, utilities, buildings, and public spaces.
Evaluate financial and economic impact
Connect activity levels to costs and value.
Translate UAV operations into economic measures such as operational value, infrastructure burden, and potential bases for fees or cost recovery.
Benchmark readiness with the Drone Scorecard
Compare preparedness across cities.
Review how your city’s policies, coordination, and operational maturity compare with others using the Drone Scorecard.
Inform zoning, ordinances, and property policy
Support defensible policy decisions.
Use quantified scenarios to support zoning decisions, ordinance development, and approaches to managing UAV activity over public and private property.
Where this goes next
This calculator is your entry point into SkyTrade City, the municipal software platform that turns these insights into day-to-day operations, including UAV registration, authorization, coordination, enforcement, monetization, and audit trails.