Informing Streetscape Design with Citizen Perceptions of Safety and Place

An Immersive Virtual Environment E-Participation Method

Bibliographic Data

ID15512603
AuthorsMarcus White (0000-0002-2238-9251, Swinburne University of Technology, corresponding author), Nano Langenheim (0000-0003-3175-2304, The University of Melbourne), Tianyi Yang (0009-0006-8890-1357, Swinburne University of Technology), Jeni Paay (0000-0001-8328-6662, Swinburne University of Technology)
Year2023
Volume20
Issue2
Pages1341-1341
Publication date2023-01-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph20021341
PMID36674096
OpenAlexW4315652478
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

As our cities grow, it is important to develop policies and streetscape designs that provide pedestrians with safe comfortable walking conditions and acknowledge the challenges involved in making urban places feel liveable and safe while understanding the critical role of streets around busy destinations. To understand these challenges at a nuanced, human level, new methods of citizen engagement are needed. This paper outlines the development and application of a new citizen perception collection method, using immersive virtual environments (IVE), coupled with an interactive emoji affective activation-pleasure grid and digital slider elements, embedded within an online e-participation survey to quantify, and rank the impact of individual (single-variable) urban design elements and safe system treatments on pedestrians' perceptions of safety and place. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method for providing detailed, interrogable, scalable citizen perception data of a variety of urban street design elements and safe system treatments, which allows a statistical analysis of responses and prioritization of the most effective pedestrian-oriented interventions for maintaining or enhancing street vibrancy and liveability. Our IVE e-participation approach is an important contribution to forming a better understanding of streetscapes and provides a valuable method for urban designers and transport planners to prioritise different streetscape place and safety approaches

Pedestrian · Perception · Pleasure · Psychological intervention · Transport engineering · Computer Science · Engineering · Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics · Psychology · Safety Warnings and Signage · Urban Green Space and Health

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