Investigating the Role of Virtual Reality in Planning for Sustainable Smart Cities

Elmira Jamei, Michael Mortimer, Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Ben Horan and Alex Stojcevski
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Elmira Jamei: College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne 3011, Australia
Michael Mortimer: School of Engineering, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, VIC 3216, Australia
Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian: School of Engineering, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, VIC 3216, Australia
Ben Horan: School of Engineering, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, VIC 3216, Australia
Alex Stojcevski: School of Software and Electrical Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, VIC 3122, Australia

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: With rapid population growth, urban designers face tremendous challenges to accommodate the increasing size of the population in urban areas while simultaneously considering future environmental, social, and economic impacts. A “smart city” is an urban development vision that integrates multiple information and communication technologies to manage the assets of a city, including its information systems, transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management systems, and other community services provided by a local department. The goal of creating a smart city is to improve the quality of life of citizens by using technology and by addressing the environmental, social, cultural, and physical needs of a society. Data modeling and data visualization are integral parts of planning a smart city, and planning professionals currently seek new methods for real-time simulations. The impact analysis of “what-if scenarios” frequently takes a significant amount of time and resources, and virtual reality (VR) is a potential tool for addressing these challenges. VR is a computer technology that replicates an environment, whether real or imagined, and simulates the physical presence and environment of a user to allow for user interaction. This paper presents a review of the capacity of VR to address current challenges in creating, modeling, and visualizing smart cities through material modeling and light simulation in a VR environment. This study can assist urban planners, stakeholders, and communities to further understand the roles of planning policies in creating a smart city, particularly in the early design stages. The significant roles of technologies, such as VR, in targeting real-time simulations and visualization requirements for smart cities are emphasized.

Keywords: smart city; virtual reality; urban planning; data visualization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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