Urban planning is traditionally communicated to the public through plans, visualisations and information events. However, understanding abstract floor plans or technical drawings requires some practice. The Design your city project, carried out by ZHAW, ZHdK and catta GmbH in collaboration with the Civil Engineering Office, the Office for Urban Development and Social Services Zurich, investigated whether virtual reality could make a difference here.
The project team developed a VR experience that enables residents to virtually experience planned changes to the street environment and help shape them themselves: planting trees, placing cycle parking spaces, and adding green spaces. To measure the added value of the technology, four versions were developed: an interactive VR version, a non-interactive VR version, an interactive desktop version and a non-interactive desktop version. All four versions were tested at four schools in the canton of Zurich. The study examined how effectively the different formats convey knowledge, spark interest and encourage willingness to participate in urban design processes.
The interactive VR version performed best. The combination of immersive visualisation and active participation significantly increased interest and positive attitudes towards sustainable urban planning more than the other formats. Based on these findings, the experience was adapted for a planned redevelopment in Zurich and tested with the public.
Thanks to an established workflow, the VR experience can be adapted to new locations and planning projects with relatively little effort, although its use remains limited to guided events due to the need for VR headsets. The project thus demonstrates that VR can be effectively utilised as a reusable and impactful medium in participatory urban development processes.