Sustainable urban developments: stakeholder engagement through 3D visualisation

Rapidly increasing urban populations are placing increased pressure on social, economic and environmental resources. For our cities to cope with this demand we must ensure that any growth is sustainable. Tools already exist which attempt to support sustainable urban decision making. However, as previous work by the authors shows, many of these existing tools fail to either adequately engage all possible stakeholders or represent fully all the complex interactions between the aspects of sustainability. This paper describes the underlying concepts of a prototype simulation and visualisation tool (S-City VT) that will allow all stakeholders, regardless of background or experience, to understand, interact with and influence decisions made on the sustainability of urban design. Using the Dundee Waterfront Development Project as a case study, S-City VT takes the unique approach of combining computer game technology with computer modelling to present the stakeholder with an interactive virtual development. Initial results highlight the viability of virtual representations of proposed real-world structures and also effectiveness of the specific visualisation techniques used in conveying urban sustainability information.