At first, virtual reality was mostly associated with computer games, but today, it has many applications. Even in urban planning, it is becoming more common to see planners with large VR glasses. Learn how it is possible to visualise urban changes and involve citizens in creating and adapting urban visions.

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to transform urban planning into a more visionary and inclusive discipline. By showing what proposed changes would look like, the technology can visualise plans and designs in a very accessible way, inviting the feedback of stakeholders. Planners can customise and personalise VR experiences with the goal of creating more accessible, inclusive, user-centred cities. For now, there are obstacles to overcome, but the first cities are starting to successfully implement this innovative tool.

VR as an urban planning tool

Virtual Reality or VR can create immersive and interactive simulations of both real and imagined environments. To see this alternative reality, users wear a headset covering their eyes and ears. Controllers or gloves help them interact with the virtual world. The results are realistic, engaging experiences that stimulate the senses and give room to creative ideas.

In urban planning, VR is useful in different scenarios. For example, planners can use it to visualise and communicate complex, abstract concepts like models and future scenarios. The technology helps to make data more accessible and understandable for the planners themselves, but also for other stakeholders and the public.

At the same time, VR can be used to test and evaluate different design options, from traffic flow and noise levels to energy consumption or social behaviour. This makes it an important tool for decision-making and improved designs. And since different actors and groups in the planning process can use VR, the technology can also facilitate collaboration, participation, and a dialogue between different perspectives and interests.

From virtual tours and walkthroughs of existing and planned areas like streets, parks, buildings, and landmarks to virtual scenarios, simulations of urban changes or traffic experiences, VR is becoming an important tool in urban planning. Studios are starting to create virtual platforms and spaces for co-creating urban solutions.

Visualising potential cycling routes

VR certainly holds a lot of potential. One of them is the emotional component: It allows people to see through another person’s eyes and to “live” different scenarios. In transport planning, for example, seeing the city from a new perspective can quite literally be eye-opening. Be it the point of view of someone in a wheelchair or a woman using public transport at night, transport planners can learn how diverse groups experience the city and its transport offer. This kind of empathetic planning will make it easier to plan inclusive, attractive, and safe transport.

Cities such as Gothenburg are already working with VR in their planning processes. This starts by creating a digital twin of urban areas, a 3D city model in a software to help visualise how new projects will look. One example from Gothenburg’s experience is visualising a new town for 10,000 inhabitants in an area that is dense forest. Many people objected to the plan, so the project developers offered them a VR experience to see that there would still be a lot of trees in the new town. In addition, they were invited to participate in the planning process.

Another example was London’s Cycling Campaign, which worked with a Dutch consultancy firm to create a virtual visualisation of what the project would look like. This allowed Londoners and officials to compare current and future cycling routes.

Read more about the experience of urban planning with a VR headset here.

Motion sickness is a risk

Of course, VR is not a cure-all for urban planning issues. It comes with many challenges, which start with data availability. To create a digital twin or a VR environment, many different datasets are necessary. Often, cities lack streamlined data, but with the rise of smart cities, big data and interoperability of data systems is improving.

Both hardware and software for VR are still quite expensive, making the practice prohibitive for many smaller studios and for cash-strapped cities and towns. To properly work with virtual reality tools, trained professionals are key. They come with knowledge on how to technically implement virtual reality depictions of cities, and they have suggestions on how to use this for participatory urban planning.

In addition, ethical and social issues can arise with VR, such as the use of potentially sensitive personal data. Critics have said that using VR for planning can influence the perceptions, emotions, and cognition of users without their consent. There are also some physical and psychological risks, such as motion sickness to eye strain, fatigue, discomfort, nausea, stress, and anxiety.

Listening is key

Despite some concerns, VR is rapidly evolving and expanding, offering many opportunities for urban planners. By integrating it with other technologies like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things, it is possible to create hybrid and mixed realities with new perspectives on urban planning.

There is also potential for scaling up VR to reach more users and stakeholders via the smartphone or web browser, as well as cloud services. This means that urban planning can happen in a more democratic way with many stakeholders giving valuable feedback on planned projects. It is then up to the urban planners to listen and implement the feedback well.

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