A virtual reality experiment to study pedestrian perception of future street scenarios

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Authors
Argota Sánchez-Vaquerizo, Javier
Hausladen, Carina I.
Mahajan, Sachit
Matter, Marc
Siebenmann, Michael
Helbing, Dirk
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2024
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Course of study
Type
01A - Journal article
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Parent work
Scientific Reports
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
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Series
Series number
Volume
14
Issue / Number
1
Pages / Duration
Patent number
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Abstract
The current allocation of street space is based on expected vehicular peak-hour flows. Flexible and adaptive use of this space can respond to changing needs. To evaluate the acceptability of flexible street layouts, several urban environments were designed and implemented in virtual reality. Participants explored these designs in immersive virtual reality in a mixed factorial experiment, in which we analysed self-reported, behavioural and physiological responses from participants. Distinct communication strategies were varied between subjects. Participants’ responses reveal a preference for familiar solutions. Unconventional street layouts are less preferred, perceived as unsafe and cause a measurably greater stress response. Furthermore, information provision focusing on comparisons lead participants to focus primarily on the drawbacks, instead of the advantages of novel scenarios. When being able to freely express thoughts and opinions, participants are focused more on the impact of space design on behaviour rather than the objective physical features themselves. Especially, this last finding suggests that it is vital to develop new street scenarios in an inclusive and democratic way: the success of innovating urban spaces depends on how well the vast diversity of citizens’ needs is considered and met.
Keywords
Virtual reality, Pedestrian, Future streets, Reponisve streets
Subject (DDC)
624 - Ingenieurbau und Umwelttechnik
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ISBN
ISSN
2045-2322
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Gold
License
'https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'
Citation
ARGOTA SÁNCHEZ-VAQUERIZO, Javier, Carina I. HAUSLADEN, Sachit MAHAJAN, Marc MATTER, Michael SIEBENMANN, Michael VAN EGGERMOND und Dirk HELBING, 2024. A virtual reality experiment to study pedestrian perception of future street scenarios. Scientific Reports. 2024. Bd. 14, Nr. 1. DOI 10.1038/s41598-024-55073-x. Verfügbar unter: https://doi.org/10.26041/fhnw-8872