Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture
Publisher
Wichmann Verlag im VDE Verlag GmbH
Publication Date
2020
First Page
404
Last Page
412
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Abstract
In the last few decades, digital technology has dramatically altered how visual resource management and visual impact assessments (VIAs) are conducted. The recent emergence of low-cost immersive technology offers a suite of tools that could facilitate the VIA process. However, to date there is limited empirical evidence evaluating how these emerging technologies could influence VIA. The research presented here begins to fill this gap by comparing immersive virtual environments to existing 2D photo-based methods for assessing the visual impacts of development. 23 participants familiar with VIAs rated the visual qualities of different scenes presented as 360° images, Google Earth and 2D images. Results show a high similarity in perceived impacts between 2D images and Google Earth; 360° images were rated consistently lower. Overall, participants indicated that immersive visualization may have a role in VIAs, but it is critical these technologies be evaluated against on-site assessments before being adopted.
Recommended Citation
DePriest, A. J., Keane, T. D., Chamberlain, B. C., Lindquist, M. Visualization Tools for Visual Impact Assessments: A Study of Existing Technologies. Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture. 2020. 404-412
