> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arterial.design/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Policies

> The building blocks of analysis on Arterial

Arterial's core functionality is based on the analysis of land development policies; we hold an enormous database of regulations ranging from zoning to official plans, development applications, and more.

Each project on Arterial is built on top of this database, and several powerful analysis tools are available to assist you in interpreting them:

## Quickstart

<Steps titleSize="h3">
  <Step title="Project Creation">
    Projects are how Arterial analyzes specific parcels in conjunction with policies; you can create a project from the [project dashboard](https://arterial.design/app/overview), [explore page](https://arterial.design/app/explore), or a project dataset page.

    See [Projects](/essentials/projects) for more information on how to create a project.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Policy Overview">
    You can view all the policies Arterial has collected in the <Icon icon="book-open" color="#FFF" /> **Policies** tab in the sidebar.

    These policy values inform the regulations that Arterial is able to find; for all necessary manual values, we'll provide the maps and information you need to fill out the correct information.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Searching & Interpretations">
    <Info>
      **Interpretations** allow you to gain a cursory understanding of regulations
      by asking questions as you would to a planner.
    </Info>

    On any policy page, you can use the <Icon icon="search" color="#FFF" /> **Search** button to search for specific policies or regulations. Arterial will find all references nd relevant information and show you a subsection of the extracts that match.

    To gain a better understanding of the policy, you can use the <Icon icon="sparkles" color="#FFF" /> **Create Interpretation** button to ask Arterial to interpret the policy for you.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Policy Information

### Arterial's policy algorithm

Arterial uses [Datasets](/essentials/datasets) to find the zoning, official plan, and other policy values relevant to a project. Each of these values is paired with a particular set of regulations (an extract from a page of a piece of legislation or design guideline).

Arterial then resolves every regulation that is referenced or references another one—allowing us to find the full set of regulations faster than any human could, at a level that is computationally verifiable.

### Inspecting extracts

Each regulation on Arterial is composed of a few core pieces, and can be inspected in detail:

* Hovering on regulations allows you to view it in the context of the document
* Clicking on a section title scrolls to the relevant section in the document
* Clicking on the chevron to the left of a regulation will collapse/expand it

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How often are policies refreshed?">
    All policies are refreshed on a weekly basis across all supported cities. We have servers that ping the relevant municipal, state, and provincial authorities looking for both consolidated bylaws and direct amendments to policies.

    Each of these amendments is processed and added to our large data graph on the fly—whenever you use Arterial for simulation, you can be sure that the policies are up-to-date.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I add a new policy?">
    All of Arterial's policies are refreshed on-the-fly; if you have a policy that you would like to see added, you can send us the relevant information and we'll add it to our database.

    <Info>
      To voice support for new features, send an email to [rishi@arterial.design](mailto:rishi@arterial.design) or send Rishi a message on Slack.
    </Info>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I know if a policy is missing?">
    All of Arterial's policies are designed to be self-contained; policies will mathematically never be missing. In certain edge cases, we'll have the most broadly applicable policy used for our own analysis.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a Massing" icon="cuboid" href="/essentials/massing">
    Build 3D visualizations and design your building envelope
  </Card>

  <Card title="Export Information" icon="cloud-download" href="/workflows/exporting">
    Export your policy analyses and datasets in a variety of formats
  </Card>

  <Card title="Explore Mode" icon="search" href="/workflows/parcel-search">
    Search for parcels and analyze policies across different areas
  </Card>

  <Card title="Variance Simulation" icon="settings" href="/workflows/upzoning">
    Test policy variations and explore development scenarios
  </Card>
</CardGroup>