Urban Design, Public Spaces, and Social Cohesion : Evidence from a Virtual Reality Experiment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimena Llopis Abella ◽  
Anna Fruttero ◽  
Emcet O. Tas ◽  
Umar Taj
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Public Spaces

Thermal comfort and pedestrian behaviors in urban public spaces in cities with warm and dry climates

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hocine Boumaraf ◽  
Louisa Amireche
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Microclimatic Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to move beyond the stage of analysis of exclusively physical microclimatic phenomena and extending ourselves to the study of the impact of the microclimate environment on the user behavior in public spaces. This paper will open up new opportunities for the development of urban open spaces and facilitate the decision-making for urban decision-makers, city managers and planners to make the right urban planning decision. Design/methodology/approach The methodology for identifying the links between microclimatic quality of urban routes and behaviors was developed on the basis of the results obtained from field surveys carried out in nine public urban areas of the city of Biskra, three urban space are located in a traditional urban fabric (the medina) and the other five in new urban areas, in the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) of 2019. For this exploratory research, two types of instruments were used to collect data from environmental and human monitoring. Findings Improving microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can allow people to spend more time outside, with the possibility of increasing their social cohesion. The overall objective of this research is to better understand the impact of microclimatic characteristics on pedestrian behavior of nine selected public urban spaces in the city of Biskra, Algeria. To characterize this impact, the authors developed an approach based on crossing data of field surveys, including structured interviews with a questionnaire and observations of human activities (video recordings), as well as microclimate monitoring, conducted during the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) 2019. The analysis of the results allowed to verify the impact of the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) on the variation in the density of occupancy of the different urban areas studied and the duration of the user stations. The authors also illustrated that the number of individuals higher in the traditional urban spaces of the city of Biskra or the conditions of climate comfort are more comfortable than the urban spaces in the new urban areas of the city of Biskra during the summer, which is the season most problematic. Originality/value In recent years, there has been a proliferation of scientific studies on the subject of control of microclimatic characteristics and, in particular, on the consideration of the thermal comfort of persons by qualitative analysis, prediction and representation of the perception of external environments. Improving microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can allow people to spend more time outside, with the possibility of increasing their social cohesion. This study highlights the importance of climate-conscious urban design and design flexibility. Urban environments can be modified in summer and winter to provide a better outdoor thermal environment for users. In addition, this study also shows the importance of harmony between microclimate and urban design. Such harmony can be achieved by including requirements for a climate-conscious urban design in the planning regulations for cities in arid zones.

scholarly journals The Hierarchy of Walking Needs and the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7461
Author(s):  
Mohammad Paydar ◽  
Asal Kamani Fard
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
Current Context ◽  
Mode Of Transport ◽  
Different Levels

More than 150 cities around the world have expanded emergency cycling and walking infrastructure to increase their resilience in the face of the COVID 19 pandemic. This tendency toward walking has led it to becoming the predominant daily mode of transport that also contributes to significant changes in the relationships between the hierarchy of walking needs and walking behaviour. These changes need to be addressed in order to increase the resilience of walking environments in the face of such a pandemic. This study was designed as a theoretical and empirical literature review seeking to improve the walking behaviour in relation to the hierarchy of walking needs within the current context of COVID-19. Accordingly, the interrelationship between the main aspects relating to walking-in the context of the pandemic- and the different levels in the hierarchy of walking needs were discussed. Results are presented in five sections of “density, crowding and stress during walking”, “sense of comfort/discomfort and stress in regard to crowded spaces during walking experiences”, “crowded spaces as insecure public spaces and the contribution of the type of urban configuration”, “role of motivational/restorative factors during walking trips to reduce the overload of stress and improve mental health”, and “urban design interventions on arrangement of visual sequences during walking”.

scholarly journals A Methodology for Assessing the Impact of Living Labs on Urban Design: The Case of the Furnish Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4562
Author(s):  
Inés Aquilué ◽  
Angélica Caicedo ◽  
Joan Moreno ◽  
Miquel Estrada ◽  
Laia Pagès
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Phase Model ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Tactical Urbanism ◽  
Living Labs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Loop Scheme

This paper presents a framework to support the assessment of urban design projects through Urban Living Labs (ULLs). The framework is based on the Tactical Urbanism (TU) practices and involves the use of Mobile Urban Elements (MUE) in uncertain and potentially confusing conditions (e.g., the COVID-19 context). The methodology includes the application of the Four-Phase Model (problem and ideation; development; implementation, testing and assessment; final proposal) and a quantitative and qualitative assessment. The proposed assessment criteria were developed through an evaluation according to three aspects: (1) feasibility impact; (2) social impact; and (3) spatial impact. The methodology was applied to Furnish, an urban design project based on a ULL and prototyping, which was recently developed in five European cities. The empirical results, obtained using the impact analysis, indicate that the prototypes developed in the project are transferable to other cities and generate social interaction in public spaces. The applied research showed that the Four-Phase Model may be used as a new and improved iterative design process: the LOOP Scheme. The application of this assessment methodology to ULLs may provide valuable information for the future planning of urban interventions in public spaces.

scholarly journals Distance and Social Ties in the « Burqa Affair »: Spatial Arrangements and Regimes of Visibility

K@iros ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila ARÊAS
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
Semiotic Process

This study develops a semiotics analysis of the « burqa affair » on French national press and observes how this public debate interrogates the problematic of the distance (physical, social and symbolical) between the secular and religious subjects in view of the question of social ties (recognition and appreciation). The analysis of the prohibitionist discourse in such debate brings into light the importance of the face in the republican conception of social ties and the primacy of the figure of transparency inside republican regime of visibility. This republican translation of the social cohesion configures a spatial problematic since it generates a semiotic process that redefines the concept of “public space” and consecrate it in the terms of 2010 law. The reconfiguration of distance that results from the mediatisation of the “burqa affair” carries, in return, some significant effects over the practical and symbolical modalities of social ties, notably the relation between oneself and the others, and raises important questionings about the meaning of contemporary public spaces and places.

The Realization of Virtual City Roaming Based on Vage

2013 ◽  
Vol 321-324 ◽  
pp. 1971-1976
Author(s):  
Pu Liu ◽  
Zheng Hong Peng
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Virtual City

Virtual reality technology is a hot research topic in computer science and the introduction of virtual roaming to the field of urban planning provides a new means for urban design. This paper first analyzes the development, features and technology of virtual reality technology and the virtual city roaming and its applications and advantages in urban planning with focus on how to implement a virtual city roaming system by means of the scene development software Vega and finally concludes the importance of virtual city roaming in urban planning.

Virtual reality rendering methods for training deep learning, analysing landscapes, and preventing virtual reality sickness

2020 ◽  
pp. 147807712095754
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Fukuda ◽  
Marcos Novak ◽  
Hiroyuki Fujii ◽  
Yoann Pencreach
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Virtual Camera ◽  
Use Of Data ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
Angular Velocities ◽  
Velocity Information

Virtual reality (VR) has been proposed for various purposes such as design studies, presentation, simulation and communication in the field of computer-aided architectural design. This paper explores new roles for VR; in particular, we propose rendering methods that consist of post-processing rendering, segmentation rendering and shadow-casting rendering for more-versatile approaches in the use of data. We focus on the creation of a dataset of annotated images, composed of paired foreground-background and semantic-relevant images, in addition to traditional immersive rendering for training deep learning neural networks and analysing landscapes. We also develop a camera velocity rendering method using a customised segmentation rendering technique that calculates the linear and angular velocities of the virtual camera within the VR space at each frame and overlays a colour on the screen according to the velocity value. Using this velocity information, developers of VR applications can improve the animation path within the VR space and prevent VR sickness. We successfully applied the developed methods to urban design and a design project for a building complex. In conclusion, the proposed method was evaluated to be both feasible and effective.

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