A User Requirements Study of Digital 3D Models for Urban Renewal

Urban renewal is a multifaceted activity that involves numerous actors, software, and types of data. Design communication tools play an important role in this process. Visual information helps to outline, understand, and choose sustainable solutions for problems in the design, while visual tools should be able to diminish professional differences and establish a common language. Recent 3D geo-technologies offer a great variety of new tools that significantly enrich visualisation possibilities and allow for flexible switching between different 3D representations. However, studies have indicated that particular representations create different perceptions in professional compared to non-professional individuals. This paper discusses the specifics of urban renewal processes in the Netherlands and investigates recently developed 3D geo-information technology, and more specifically multiple 3D representations, that can support this task. The concept of LOD, which uses five levels of information, was evaluated as a very promising approach to agree on abstractions and representations in the different renewal phases. The study did not reveal a lack of digital possibilities for visualisation, but instead showed that the simultaneous visualisation of the proposed alternatives should be a priority. This investigation did reveal that different levels of interactivity could be used for the presentation and communication of project alternatives.