Web Vr Based Collaborative Modelling and Discussion Tools for Master Planning – the Veps Project

It is becoming increasingly important to European democratic governments to increase public participation. We argue that more effective tools are required to clearly display local planning proposals and their consequences in web based interactive 3D, free at the point of access. Initial workshops have shown that such tools are only likely to be used if those so doing can influence the outcome. Tools are needed to share concerns, examine alternatives, and propose solutions through collaborative citizen based examination and discussion. The paper describes a prototype for interactive 3D modelling on the web, which is currently being tested. One of the issues raised in the early workshops was that greater trust needs to be engendered between planners, developers, architects and the public, and that agreement that the data and the resulting representations is sufficiently accurate is likely to provide a stronger base for consensus.