Exploring tools for interactive visualizations in physical and virtual space - An evaluation study between visualization technologies used in urban planning and development

Abstract

Citizen dialogue in urban planning projects does not guarantee a successful process and can only be considered a valuable instrument if used intentionally, rather than as a goal in and of itself. The interface between large-scale projects and the citizens they aim to involve is essential to create a common ground for dialogue, where factors like structure and design of the interaction are often overlooked. Present thesis attempts to outline the most significant aspects to consider when designing interactive visualization interfaces to support citizen dialogue. By adhering to a compound evaluation process of user experience and cognitive science, the results are grounded in data while substantiated by relevant factors for human information processing. Through an iterative design process, two interfaces were created, Virtual Reality and Projection Mapping, to mediate and facilitate an evaluation process from which fifteen design guidelines were derived. The study revealed a number of differences between the technologies, but also between user groups of citizens and urban planners. The gap between the users’ desires and the experts knowledge of the optimal conditions of interaction pose a notable challenge to design for. The significance of this study appear in this discrepancy, where the mismatch is likely where dialogue continuously fails. Conclusively, the main contribution of this thesis is the novel outlook on the design of interactive technologies for urban development through a compound evaluation of data and scientific theory.