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Immerse Yourself! Youth and XR Master Planning

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Certification Maintenance

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Course Details

How might planners utilize immersive and eXtended Reality (XR) technologies such as Virtual and Mixed Reality (VR/MR) to foster community dialogue, particularly among youth? In this session, we look at how such technologies were utilized in multiple case studies across the US to connect youth to the planning process and their futures, promote informed decision-making, and engage with master planning in new and novel ways. As Jane Jacobs aptly pointed out, cities are embodied. How might we utilize this emerging tech to three-dimensionalize the planning process so that communities feel ideas such as transit-oriented development, climate adaptive infrastructure, or multi-use zoning rather than simply conceptualized?

By adopting this approach, diverse perspectives, age groups, and abilities can virtually "test" such elements as bike lanes or pocket parks, offering insights that maps or discussions cannot provide. Moreover, VR/MR can simulate seasonal challenges not immediately felt — such as extreme weather — allowing planners to convey adaptive strategies for diverse environments better.

Through our multiple case study presentation that spans private, municipal, and academic partners, we outline how immersive technologies engage younger generations in the process of planning and governance, driving toward a more participatory and forward-thinking connection to the future of one's space and place.

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify the key components of immersive and eXtended Reality (XR) technologies and how they are being used in Mesa, Arizona to foster engagement, especially among youth, in the planning process.
  • Explain how immersive and eXtended Reality (XR) technologies like VR/MR can better make abstract planning concepts—such as TOD, climate adaptive infrastructure, or multi-use zoning — more relatable to existing community needs.
  • Explore the processes that can be utilized to create similar projects for your community that support intuitive decision-making, increase diverse perspective-taking, and support community understanding of the planning process.