Understanding and living the past and the future: 3D modelling and interactive surveys as a research and teaching methodology.

In the first Industrial Revolution that began in the eighteenth century in Britain, the population density pattern of the country changed dramatically. From a strong agrarian society with a low population density in the early eighteenth century by the beginning of the nineteenth century Britain had become an urbanised country with large industrial cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and London. These cities became endless and comprised of high density areas with high rates of unemployment and with poor sanitation and housing. There were solutions put forward to prevent this continuous and relentless urbanisation, with major social problems including poverty, disease, unemployment, and deprivation. One of the solutions to combat unhealthy urbanisation was the creation of self-sufficient villages that would be funded through shareholdings. The villages were a mixture of agrarian and industrial activity and they would return the investor a five percent dividend. This concept of a village or town as a business investment was slow to be realised in the nineteenth century but by the twenty-first century an increasing number of new towns and some cities of significant size are being built throughout the world that encompass the ideals of a liveable environment. Some of these cities are funded by the government while others are private gated communities. This has left open the question of how to evaluate and examine these cities or communities before they are built, not just as an architectural plan, but as a viable working city. Many billions have been spent on cities that are proving to be highly unsuccessful. An example of this is Songdo, a ‘smart city’ in South Korea that consists of the world’s best technology and with ecologically-friendly practices, but it has been slow to attract the required businesses and a population. Architects create 3-D computer models of their designs of these cities to indicate to the investors how these cities would appear and how the commercial areas, domestic areas and industrial areas will be planned. However, this does not assess the viability and the appeal to investors and inhabitants. This paper examines a methodological approach to testing the viability of the city using these 3-D computer models and testing their appeal, permeability and liveability through interactive questionnaires. The authors of this paper have used the methodological approach described in this paper on unbuilt historical cities from the Industrial Revolution that were designed not only to relieve the density problem but as a business proposition. The results revealed a surprising understanding from the participants of how the city worked what they wanted from it and expected from it. Development of this methodological approach is becoming important in the development of the new cities of the future. The methods used provide a pretesting tool to evaluate urban development and planning as well as being a tool to understanding and evaluating past city planning and designs. This will assist researchers in architectural and business history, as well as providing a powerful tool for teaching.