Chasing digital shadows:exploring future hybrid cities through anthropological design fiction

Abstract This paper presents an anthropological design fiction envisioning a future hybrid city where 3D virtual city models and physical reality are intertwined seamlessly. The crafted fiction addresses three broad themes. Firstly, it explores how not only digital and physical but also past and present as well as near and distant places might become entangled in such a hybrid city. Secondly, we speculate what it means if the digital traces of a person — perhaps even his/her digitalized body — continue “living” in a hybrid city after s/he has passed away. Thirdly, we raise questions regarding power: who owns the digital city, and who has the right to change it? Lastly, we ponder some sociocultural questions and design ideas opened up by the fiction

Two real-world case studies on 3D web applications for participatory urban planning

Abstract 3D Web is a potential platform for publishing and distributing 3D visualizations that have proven useful in enabling the participation of the general public in urban planning. However, technical requirements imposed by detailed and rich real-world plans and related functionalities are demanding for 3D web technologies. In this paper we explore the maturity of modern 3D web technologies in participatory urban planning through two real-world case studies. Applications built on Unity-based platform are published on the web to allow the general public to create, browse and comment on urban plans. The virtual models of seven urban development sites of different visual styles are optimized in terms of download sizes and memory use to be feasible on browsers used by the general public. We report qualitative feedback from users and present a technical analysis of the applications in terms of download sizes, runtime performance and memory use. We summarize the findings of the case studies into an assessment of the general feasibility of modern 3D web technologies in web-based urban planning

DRUMM:dynamic viewing of large-scale 3D city models on the web

Abstract 3D city models have become an important user interface for various applications, ranging from entertainment to civil engineering. Today, 3D city models can also be accessed on the web without installing any additional software, which has significantly widened their potential audience. However, visually accurate 3D city models are typically large in terms of file size, and hence, require ample network bandwidth for minimizing download delays and providing a smooth user experience. In this paper, we introduce a method called DRUMM, which enables dynamic resource management for viewing 3D city models on the web. DRUMM supports both the use of varying criteria for prioritizing the download order of 3D graphics, and the division of 3D graphics into chunks facilitating parallel downloads that can be suspended and later continued. The performance of DRUMM was evaluated in terms of (1) starting delay; (2) used network bandwidth; and (3) the number of buildings with textures in the view using the developed prototype implementation. Based on the results, DRUMM improves the usability of 3D city applications, particularly when the network bandwidth is scarce

A qualitative study on the effects of real-world stimuli and place familiarity on presence

Abstract We present a qualitative study investigating the effects of real-world stimuli and place familiarity on presence. The study was carried out using a prototype Virtual Reality system designed for participatory urban planning. The system uses consumer grade VR hardware for viewing 3D virtual models of future architectural plans at an urban site. We collected comprehensive qualitative data from 16 participants who used the VR system on-site to immersively view and vote on three different future plans at the real-world location while exposed to ambient non-visual stimuli emanating from the physical location. We provide qualitative findings regarding presence along the four recurrent themes revealed by the thematic analysis of the research data: visual content, impact of physical surroundings, navigation and interaction, and suitability for participatory urban planning. We also analyse the findings in terms of feasibility of such on-site VR experience and the applicability of large-scale city models for VR