Using augmented reality in urban planning processes: Sustainable urban transitions through innovative participation

The use of augmented reality applications in urban planning improves the quality of participation processes and contributes to sustainable city development. However, as our case studies also show, these potentials are not fully exploited yet as augmented reality is not yet used in all planning phases.Sustainable urban development requires innovative approaches and concepts that involve people not only in planning processes but also in influencing the design of urban space. Modern formats, such as augmented reality (AR), can help to increase the motivation for participation and present different planning concepts more realistically through different forms of visualization. Based on case studies in Vienna, Austria, and Lucerne, Switzerland, we examine AR applications in planning participation and discuss the innovative nature of these applications. We show that the use of AR not only increases the motivation of the population to participate in planning processes but also increases the quality of participation processes and can, thus, trigger a sustainable transformation of cities.