USERS EVALUATION OF SIMULATED DESIGN ALTERNATIVES OF URBAN PROJECTS An Approach to Central Public Squares Planting Design

Abstract

The study aims at developing and testing an approach for users' participation in planting design for urban projects through investigating their evaluation of simulated design alternatives. The main objective of the applied section of the research is to test the reliability of the suggested approach through a limited demonstration experiment that is applied on central public squares planting design. Opera Square is chosen as the case study of the research. The current status of the Opera Square's central island reveals the existence of trees with informal arrangement and height. As a result, the researcher chooses trees height as the quantitative plant parameter to be modified imd tested through the experiment. The study asserts that advanced experiential and dynamic media of visual representation contribute to users' understanding and participation in early phases of environmental design. It also stresses the importance of the appropriateness of both the height of trees and their distance to seating places, especially in the presence of visual points of focus in the urban structure.

For further research, the study recommends investigating the various ideas of using urban simulation tools (especially Virtual Reality) in research oriented to test users' evaluation of built environment.