Cultures, Communities and Design

Abstract

Prosperous cities have constantly changed and their ability to adapt to contemporary commercial demands has always been rewarded, but this may no longer be the case. Delhi residents are now paying a high price for this endeavor with schools closed due to toxic air caused by high levels of carbon dioxide. Although previous urban transformations by drastic demolition had an insignificant climate impact, they instead erased irreplaceable historical layers. In fact, unfavorable and time-typical urban changes can become a significant asset for tourism through Virtual Tourism relocation (VTr). This concept will drastically reduce overtourism which today prevents the tourism industry from being viable and green. VTr encourages Staycation, which thereby reduces CO2 emissions, but not least offers new income opportunities. Virtual Tourism relocation (VTr) aims to guide people through the past and even to experience completely lost contexts, which existed before Haussmann’s street breakthrough in Paris or the purge of homes that symbolized “poor Sweden” after World War II. Common to these drastic demolitions was that valuable city structure disappeared forever. All measures to increase the public’s respect for what we have, when there is still time, are crucial for a sustainable future. Opponents of 19th-century Industrialization therefore undertook to move endangered buildings to museums due to the subsequent urban renewal. Today, these houses are irreplaceable resources, but less appreciated because they appear to be two-dimensional as they have been deprived of their original context. This study investigates the ability of different digital methods to convey the experience of a time travel, i.e. how to relocate individuals and buildings. Through qualitative interviews, staff reflect on which Virtual Reality environments and IndianaJones Effects make museum buildings three-dimensional. Positive results from this inductive study indicate that if Virtual Tourism relocation (VTr) is applicable to museums, it can be useful in urban planning.