3d Virtual Environments Versus 360° Panoramic Images: Comparison of Techniques For Evaluating Urban Environments

Environmental simulation is widely used in research experiments, allowing researchers, planners, and designers to understand the effects of various factors on users. Among several techniques commonly employed, are three-dimensional virtual environments and 360° panoramic images are popular. This study investigates whether these two methodologies, affect people's perceptions of urban street environments, across seven different evaluation scales. Two groups of experts (n=118) evaluated a set of nine virtual environments using both methodologies. The findings indicate that most evaluation scales are not affected by the type of simulation used. The exception was the perception of liveliness in the environment.