Determining the Effect of Alleyway Design on Perceived Safety Through Virtual Reality
Virtual reality can facilitate experiments to examine the effects of landscape architectural design on site users. This study investigates the outcome of design interventions on a pedestrian’s perceived safety in an American urban alleyway environment.
A base 3D computer model of an alleyway was created initially using the program SketchUp by utilizing measurements collected from the “Athens Mural Alley” and the surrounding environment located in Athens, Georgia. This particular alleyway was chosen because it is surrounded by late-night dining locations and a few stores and offices. It directly connects two active streets in the Athens downtown nightlife scene while providing rear access to restaurants and bars.
Designed alleyway survey prompt screenshot (brightness and contrast increased for clarity)
Bird’s-eye view of the designed alleyway (brightness and contrast increased for clarity)
Designed alleyway visual survey promptParticipants experienced either a baseline or designed 3D modeled alleyway followed by a survey. One model was utilized to create both the populated (designed with interventions) and unpopulated (typical undesigned) college town alleyway environments, which were differentiated by turning on and off layers in the program. This ensured that the environment remained consistent between the two experiences, apart from the intentional changes.
Photo progression through the designed alleyway (brightness and contrast increased for clarity).
Photo progression through the undesigned alleyway (brightness and contrast increased for clarity).Findings show that the designed environment had a more significant effect on participants’ feelings of safety than the control environment, especially the design elements of lighting and planting. This study demonstrates the usefulness of virtual reality for assessing particular design outcomes through a human perspective.
Determining the Effect of Alleyway Design on Perceived Safety Through Virtual Reality
Virtual reality can facilitate experiments to examine the effects of landscape architectural design on site users. This study investigates the outcome of design interventions on a pedestrian’s perceived safety in an American urban alleyway environment. Participants (n=112) experienced either a baseline or designed 3D modeled alleyway followed by a survey. Findings show that the designed environment had a more significant effect on participants’ feelings of safety than the control environment, especially the design elements of lighting and planting. This study demonstrates the usefulness of virtual reality for assessing particular design outcomes through a human perspective.
In Collaboration with
Utah State University, Logan, UTTeam
Adolfo Martinez Jessica Fernandez, Ph.D.Benjamin George, Ph.D.Prof. David SpoonerShirin RezaeimalekPublications
Martinez, A., Fernandez, J., George, B., Spooner, D., & Rezaeimalek, S. (2024). Determining the Effect of Alleyway Design on Per-ceived Safety Through Virtual Reality. Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture. Presentations
2024, Martinez, A., Fernandez, J., George, B., Spooner, D., & Rezaeimalek, S. (2024). Determining the Effect of Alleyway Design on Per-ceived Safety Through Virtual Reality. DLA, Vienna, Austria