Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

DOI

10.1007/s12053-024-10270-5

Publication Title

Energy Efficiency

Volume

17

Issue

7

Pages

83 (1-16)

Abstract

Infrastructure decisions today significantly impact future generations' quality of life, especially as severe storms and rising sea levels increasingly threaten communities across the United States. Decision-makers at all levels, including those involved in disaster prevention and response, must address climate change. However, those in infrastructure design and construction often prioritize immediate gains over long-term resilience. Engineering teams typically employ decision tools to manage complexity, but these methods may not highlight the long-term consequences of their choices. This study tests whether integrating Virtual Reality (VR) technology with engineering decision-making tools, can enhance engineers’ ability to visualize the future impacts of their infrastructure projects. A group of engineering students (n = 56) was given a case study on updating roadwork systems in Norfolk, Virginia, an area vulnerable to flooding. The control group viewed images depicting current and future conditions of sea-level rise (year 2100), while the intervention group experienced the same information but through an immersive VR scenario. Participants selected achievement levels for each credit using the Envision system, with total points reflecting the resilience and sustainability of decisions. The results indicate that participants who engaged with the VR experience, achieved higher scores than those who received the images. The results also indicate a variation in VR's impact based on political affiliation, with Democrats responding more positively to the VR experience than Republicans. The findings highlight that integrating VR into decision-making tools can be a crucial advancement in infrastructure planning, enabling engineers to make more informed, sustainable choices for a resilient future.

Rights

© The Author 2024.

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

Data Availability

Article states: "Some or all data that support the findings of this study are available from the author upon reasonable request."

Original Publication Citation

Ismael, D. (2024). Immersive visualization in infrastructure planning: Enhancing long-term resilience and sustainability. Energy Efficiency, 17(7), 1-16, Article 83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-024-10270-5

ORCID

0009-0003-7410-3045 (Ismael)

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