Virtual Reality as a Tool for Enhancing Understanding of Tactical Urbanism

Tactical urbanism (TU) and Virtual Reality (VR) both aim to reimagine physical spaces, with TU utilizing rapid, temporary, scalable, and cost-effective physical interventions to test and refine urban design, while VR offers immersive virtual environments for exploration and analysis. This article investigates the integration of VR with TU to address challenges in effectively communicating and evaluating temporary urban interventions. This study is grounded in a literature review on spatial perception, TU, and VR, followed by an empirical experiment involving Brazilian college students. Participants interacted with a parklet installation in both physical and virtual environments, with their spatial perception and psychological responses evaluated using the exp-EIA© (experiential-Environmental Impact Assessment) method and protocol. The results demonstrated that VR can effectively complement traditional methods, serving as a powerful tool to support urban space design. Participants emphasized the importance of social interaction and recreational activities, reinforcing VR’s potential to simulate urban interventions to support the design process. A crucial avenue for future research is identifying the best practices for using VR as a platform for collaborative design and decision-making. This step could enhance VR’s effectiveness in creating public spaces that align with community needs, fostering participatory planning and promoting inclusive, functional, and enriching environments.