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Urban Blue Acupuncture: An Experiment on Preferences for Design Options Using Virtual Models

Author

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  • Peeter Vassiljev

    (Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia)

  • Simon Bell

    (Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
    Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 9DF, UK)

  • Jekaterina Balicka

    (Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia)

  • Umme Aymona Ali Amrita

    (Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia)

Abstract

Within the BlueHealth project, funded under the Horizon 2020 European Union research framework, a number of targeted experimental design interventions created in virtual reality (VR) were used to test the effect and impact of planning and design on encouraging people to use various blue spaces. A set of designs in three different coastal landscape types—a cliff/steep slope; a sandy beach and an area of reed beds—located in Tallinn, Estonia, were used as the sites for nine different intervention designs. The designs were based on a combination of the site features and inspirations from solutions found in different locations internationally. Using 3D modelling and a Virtual Reality system, a set of nine videos, one to depict each intervention, was created and shown to a quota sample of 252 Estonian residents. Respondents were asked a set of questions associated with each option. The results were analysed statistically and qualitatively. The results uncovered key preferences for designs and revealed differences among age groups and the levels of personal interconnection with nature. However, there were problems associated with the interpretation and understanding of some of the options by some of the people due to the degree of realism of the VR representations, which may have affected the results. The project shows that VR could be a useful tool for testing design ideas as part of public participation approaches but that care is needed in ensuring that viewers understand what they are assessing.

Suggested Citation

  • Peeter Vassiljev & Simon Bell & Jekaterina Balicka & Umme Aymona Ali Amrita, 2020. "Urban Blue Acupuncture: An Experiment on Preferences for Design Options Using Virtual Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-37, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:24:p:10656-:d:465405
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jiaying Shi & Tsuyoshi Honjo & Kaixuan Zhang & Katsunori Furuya, 2020. "Using Virtual Reality to Assess Landscape: A Comparative Study Between On-Site Survey and Virtual Reality of Aesthetic Preference and Landscape Cognition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Simon Bell & Himansu Sekhar Mishra & Lewis R. Elliott & Rebecca Shellock & Peeter Vassiljev & Miriam Porter & Zoe Sydenham & Mathew P. White, 2020. "Urban Blue Acupuncture: A Protocol for Evaluating a Complex Landscape Design Intervention to Improve Health and Wellbeing in a Coastal Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna Wilczyńska & Gloria Niin & Peeter Vassiljev & Izabela Myszka & Simon Bell, 2023. "Perceptions and Patterns of Use of Blue Spaces in Selected European Cities: Tartu, Tallinn, Barcelona, Warsaw and Plymouth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-30, April.
    2. Peeter Vassiljev & Simon Bell, 2023. "While Experiencing a Forest Trail, Variation in Landscape Is Just as Important as Content: A Virtual Reality Experiment of Cross-Country Skiing in Estonia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, February.

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