Tag: urban planning

Posted on

Can you imagine what it could be like? Using Virtual and Augmented Reality to increase the acceptance of sustainable mobility in cities

Our cities face significant challenges, particularly regarding mobility and quality of life. Increasing traffic and the associated environmental impacts are progressively affecting urban life. The need to make mobility more sustainable is now ever-present, which goes along with an acceptance of the suggested changes. “Every change means that a person has to leave his known and habitual actions, his environment, his habits, his role, in short his status quo”(Frey et al., 2008, p. 281). A key question, therefore, is: How can the acceptance of sustainable mobility be increased among citizens? This is precisely where Joshua Klein’s bachelor thesis comes in, conducted as part of the research project “Streetmoves4iCity” (read more here about this project). The thesis explores how immersive technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) can help to increase citizens’ acceptance of traffic-reducing measures by making the positive effects of the change visible.

Virtual Reality (VR): Creates a fully digital environment in which the user immerses themselves. Using headsets, the real world is completely blocked out, and the user is placed in a computer-generated world that is interactive and immersive.

Augmented Reality (AR): Overlays digital information onto the real world. Using smartphones or glasses, users see the real environment, enhanced with digital elements.

Research goal: The aim of the study was to determine whether and to what extent immersive technologies can promote the acceptance of measures aimed at reducing urban road traffic by visualizing the positive effects of these measures. Specifically, it examined whether VR and AR are perceived differently and how immersion—the feeling of being absorbed in a virtual environment—impacts acceptance. These questions are crucial, as the successful implementation of sustainable mobility concepts often depends on the public’s willingness to accept change.

Research overview: The empirical study was conducted in the Leonhardsvorstadt district of Stuttgart and aimed to simulate the experience of traffic-reducing measures through VR and AR. The investigation involved two independent groups: one group experienced the planned measures through a VR simulation, while the other group used AR. The VR group was shown a 360-degree video of a previously implemented traffic trial in Mannheim (see here for another study using this methodology), while the AR group experienced a live augmented reality simulation using a Microsoft HoloLens2 mixed-reality head-mounted display. In both cases, participants’ acceptance of the measures was assessed both before and after the experience, along with their perceived immersion. A total of 44 people took part in the study.

The central hypothesis was that the experience of the positive effects of traffic-reducing measures through VR and AR would lead to a significant increase in acceptance of these measures. Additionally, the study examined whether there were differences in perceived immersion between the two technologies and whether this mediated the effect on acceptance. Another research goal was to explore whether familiarity with the respective technology influenced immersion.

The study was supplemented by qualitative interviews to identify what is currently lacking in public spaces in the Leonhardsvorstadt, how car parking spaces can be used more efficiently, and what suggestions participants had for improving public spaces by reducing traffic flow.

Main results

Increased acceptance: First, it was confirmed that both VR and AR can contribute to increasing the acceptance of measures aimed at reducing urban road traffic. This is an important finding, as it shows that immersive technologies can be valuable tools for citizen participation and urban planning.

VR and AR are equally convincing: Interestingly, there were no significant differences between the two technologies in terms of their effect on acceptance. Both VR and AR were equally convincing to participants. This suggests that both technologies are equally suitable for involving citizens early in planning processes and demonstrating the benefits of traffic measures.

Level of immersion has no effect: Surprisingly, the perceived immersion played a smaller role than expected. The results suggest that it is less about the depth of the immersive experience and more about making changes tangible and understandable. Even a high level of immersion does not necessarily lead to a change in opinion, as the impact depends more on the conveyed facts.

No mediation by familiarity with technology: Another question was whether familiarity with the respective technology could influence the perceived immersion. However, this assumption was not confirmed. Participants’ familiarity with VR or AR had no significant effect on their immersion experience. Therefore, even people with little experience with these technologies could benefit from their use.

Desire for parks, leisure facilities, and cleanliness: The qualitative responses emphasized an improvement in quality of life. Park-like structures were often desired, followed by an expansion of sustainable infrastructure, gastronomy, cultural offerings, and improved cleanliness in the district.

Conclusion

In summary, Joshua Klein’s thesis demonstrates that both virtual and augmented reality are effective tools for promoting the acceptance of measures aimed at reducing urban road traffic. The immersive experience of such measures through technologies like VR and AR gives citizens the opportunity to realistically perceive planned changes and better understand their benefits. A key advantage of the technology is that it not only stimulates citizens’ imagination but also helps reduce uncertainties and build trust in the feasibility of such measures. These findings offer valuable insights for urban planning and citizen participation, particularly concerning the planning of sustainable mobility concepts. With VR and AR, cities like Stuttgart have an effective means of involving citizens early in planning processes and illustrating the positive impact of such projects on quality of life.

Further interesting contributions on this topic can be foundhere: Virtual Reality (VR) in urban planning – a helpful use of technology to increase the acceptance of a reduction in car traffic – Innovation Acceptance Lab

References

Frey, D., Gerkhardt, M. & Fischer, P. (2008). Erfolgsfaktoren und Stolpersteine bei Veränderungen. In D. Beck, R. Fisch, A. Müller & D. Beck (Hrsg.), Veränderungen in Organisationen: Stand und Perspektiven (S. 281- 299). VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978- 3-531-91166-3

Posted on

Virtual Reality (VR) in urban planning – a helpful use of technology to increase the acceptance of a reduction in car traffic

Climate change and the associated attempt to take appropriate measures in order to reduce global warming are omnipresent. One current issue in this context is car traffic, especially in large cities, which produces a lot of emissions and, thus, contributes to climate change. European cities want to reduce the dominance of motorized individual transport in order to combat the environmental problems associated with it, such as noise, air pollution and land consumption (SPIEGEL, 2022). The aim is to redesign public space to improve the quality of life, so that everyone ultimately benefits.

In this context, the acceptance of citizens is particularly important for the implementation of transport policy measures, as resistance may arise before or during projects (Bosch & Peyke, 2011; Huber et al., 2020; Pleger, 2019). Studies show that citizens are more open to transport policy measures if they create quality of life and quality of place (Andor et al., 2020; Wicki et al., 2021; Wicki & Kaufmann, 2022). It is problematic that in the early planning phases, the opportunities for influence are greatest, but the interest of citizens is lowest (Wolf et al., 2020). One reason for the low level of interest is the provision of comprehensible information, which is often characterized by complex plan drawings, image montages, graphics or texts in technical language that are difficult or impossible for non-experts to understand (Spieker, 2021; Wolf et al., 2020).

This is where new technologies come into play, such as virtual reality glasses, which can visualize measures and changes in the cityscape and make them tangible. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of simple immersion in various new reality scenarios without prior knowledge or experience (Lovett et al., 2015; Schauppenlehner et al., 2018; Schwarze et al., 2022; Sinning et al., 2023). Through these so-called immersive visualization technologies, every citizen can also be made privy to a project and their opinion can be sought, thus increasing the acceptance of the measures and changes.

Research Goal

The aim of a study conducted by Jasmina Rückle, a Master student in our Business Psychology Programme, was to analyze the impact of the use of immersive visualization technologies on the acceptance of a reduction in moving and stationary car traffic among residents and people in a suburban area. Empirically, there is a gap on the question of whether immersive visualization technologies (e.g. VR glasses) have a stronger positive influence on the acceptance of car traffic reduction than less immersive visualization technologies (e.g. a video on a smartphone). There is also a lack of information on the factors that influence immersion, which were investigated in more detail in this study.

Study Overview

The experimental study was conducted in an urban environment in Stuttgart with a representative group of 60 participants, consisting of local residents and people with a personal connection to the surrounding area. During the experiment, the participants were presented with different scenarios related to traffic reduction. Firstly, what the urban environment currently looks like, and secondly, what it could look like in the future with less car traffic. The experiment was conducted under three different conditions: a) interactive virtual reality, b) visualization of a VR video and c) presentation of a video on a smartphone. Acceptance of the traffic reduction and other relevant variables were measured before and after the exposure of the virtual presentation.

The survey data was recorded on a 5-point Likert scale from not at all (1) to completely (5). The 60 respondents, with an average age of 34 years, were 48% male and 52% female. The two largest groups of people were professionals (55%) and students (32%), all of whom had regular contact with the selected urban environment.

Main Findings

Acceptance of car traffic reduction:
The residents and people with a direct connection to the selected urban environment had a high acceptance of the reduction of moving and stationary car traffic. They particularly disliked the noise caused by the traffic.

Immersive visualization technologies:
After the manipulation with the VR interaction, the acceptance of reducing car traffic differed significantly between the scenarios of how the neighbourhood looks now and how it could look in the future. For example, acceptance increased with the help of immersive technology in the interactive VR scenario. This was not the case for the other two conditions (VR video and smartphone video).

In our study, the level of immersion (how much the respondent can immerse themselves in the scenario) had a strong positive influence on acceptance. Immersion can be further enhanced by increasing the user’s attention and cognitive involvement, which can be promoted by, for example, a high-resolution animated scenario and a situation in which the person does not feel observed. People with a strong spatial imagination also experience better immersion. On the other hand, technology affinity had no effect on perceived immersion.

Conclusion

From the study it can be concluded that it may be a useful method in future urban planning to use technologies such as high immersion VR glasses to allow citizens to immerse themselves in the scenario and thus increase the acceptance for changes. This can be used for future scenarios that are otherwise not directly tangible to citizens, which can be animated in a way that is close to reality. As we have demonstrated, interaction in virtual reality can increase the acceptance of reducing car traffic in cities, which would facilitate the implementation of climate-friendly measures. A VR or smartphone video does not increase this acceptance. A high degree of immersion is important. This can be further increased by high attention, cognitive involvement and strong spatial imagination of the person using the immersive technology.

References

Andor, M. A., Frondel, M., Horvath, M., Larysch, T., & Ruhrort, L. (2020). Präferenzen und Einstellungen zu vieldiskutierten verkehrspolitischen Maßnahmen: Ergebnisse einer Erhebung aus dem Jahr 2018. List Forum für Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik, 45(3), 255–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41025-019-00184-x

Bosch, S., & Peyke, G. (2011). Gegenwind für die Erneuerbaren – Räumliche Neuorientierung der Wind-, Solar- und Bioenergie vor dem Hintergrund einer verringerten Akzeptanz sowie zunehmender Flächennutzungskonflikte im ländlichen Raum. Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning, 69(2), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13147-011-0082-6

Huber, R. A., Wicki, M. L., & Bernauer, T. (2020). Public support for environmental policy depends on beliefs concerning effectiveness, intrusiveness, and fairness. Environmental Politics, 29(4), 649–673. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2019.1629171

Lovett, A., Appleton, K., Warren-Kretzschmar, B., & Von Haaren, C. (2015). Using 3D visualization methods in landscape planning: An evaluation of options and practical issues. Landscape and Urban Planning, 142, 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.021 

Pleger, L. E. (2019). Democratic Acceptance of Spatial Planning Policy Measures. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3- 319-90878-6

Schauppenlehner, T., Kugler, K., & Muhar, A. (2018). Anwendungserfahrungen von Virtual Reality als Kommunikationswerkzeug in partizipativen Planungsprozessen. Wichmann Verlag. https://doi.org/10.14627/537647003

Schwarze, J., Vöckler, K., Hinde, S., David, E., Le-Hoa Võ, M., & Eckart, P. (2022). Virtual Reality im Mobilitätsdesign: Experimentelle Forschung zum Einsatz von VR-Simulationen. In P. Eckart, M. Knöll, M. Lanzendorf, & K. Vöckler (Hrsg.), Mobility Design (S. 198–215). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783868597936-019 

Sinning, H., Brandenburger, Y., Kruse, R., & Rogoll, S. (2023). Partizipative Stadtentwicklung mit XR-Technologie. Urbane Transformation als gesamtgesellschaftliche Aufgabe. https://www.vhw.de/fileadmin/user_upload/08_publikationen/verbandszeitschrift/FWS/2023/FWS_2_2023/FWS_2_23_Gesamtausgabe.pdf

SPIEGEL. (2022). Barcelona, London oder Paris: Wie Europas Metropolen das Auto loswerden wollen. SPIEGEL Mobilität. https://www.spiegel.de/auto/barcelona-london-oder-paris-wie-europas-metropolen-dasauto-loswerden-wollen-a-443d7682-8ab9-49e7-86d4-977a8

Spieker, A. (2021). Chance statt Show – Bürgerbeteiligung mit Virtual Reality & Co.: Akzeptanz und Wirkung der Visualisierung von Bauvorhaben. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658- 33082-8

Wicki, M., Hofer, K., & Kaufmann, D. (2021). Acceptance of densification in six metropolises: Evidence from combined survey experiments [Application/pdf]. 28 p. https://doi.org/10.3929/ETHZ-B-000519861 

Wicki, M., & Kaufmann, D. (2022). Accepting and resisting densification: The importance of project-related factors and the contextualizing role of neighbourhoods. Landscape and Urban Planning, 220, 104350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104350

Wolf, M., Söbke, H., & Wehking, F. (2020). Mixed Reality Media-Enabled Public Participation in Urban Planning. In T. Jung, M. C. Tom Dieck, & P. A. Rauschnabel (Hrsg.), Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality: Changing Realities in a Dynamic World (S. 125–138). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37869-1

Posted on

VR in applied research [part 2]: When our imagination doesn’t reach far enough – Virtual reality as a participatory method to increase the acceptance of sustainable mobility

It is expected of cities to provide an attractive, but also competitive place to work and live, while managing the needs of all transportation users and meeting the increasing demands of climate, environmental and health protection all at the same time. Not meeting these demands often simultaneously relates to a reduction in the inhabitants’ quality of life. An important component for a high standard of living in cities is mobility, which is one aspect of our institution’s research project, iCity, aimed at developing the intelligent city of the future (read more here about this project).

Continue reading “VR in applied research [part 2]: When our imagination doesn’t reach far enough – Virtual reality as a participatory method to increase the acceptance of sustainable mobility”

Posted on

How can we facilitate citizen participation in urban planning processes? An eye tracking study of a 3D participation platform

Citizen participation is a major driver of democratic and socio-economic development, as well as a key method of citizen empowerment (NDI, 2021). Involving citizens in urban planning processes can help create a sense of community, generate valuable ideas, and increase acceptance of planning proposals (OECD, 2019). Facilitating citizen participation may help achieve these positive outcomes.

Kesselkompass3 – Inform, Involve, Cooperate – is an innovative 3D platform that enables citizen participation processes to take place online. The platform, developed by M4_LAB, offers a variety of tools and information to connect urban planners and citizens. On the platform itself, there is a 3D map of Stuttgart which offers several interactions especially for citizens but also planners. In addition, participation projects that have already been completed or are still in planning are presented. The platform has already been used by more than 600 citizens in previous projects and will now be further developed.

Continue reading “How can we facilitate citizen participation in urban planning processes? An eye tracking study of a 3D participation platform”