Introduction to Augmented Reality in Infrastructure Planning
The climate crisis has intensified the frequency and severity of flooding for a lot of communities, prompting cities to show to climate-resilient infrastructure. At the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, a growing challenge is communicating these solutions to residents and officials. To address this, the council has partnered with InCitu, a New York-based augmented reality startup, to provide communities a clearer picture of future infrastructure developments.
What is InCitu?
InCitu is an augmented reality platform that lets users see infrastructure projects on a smartphone. The platform is designed to assist government agencies, real estate developers, urban planners, and designers show colleagues or community members what proposed buildings and infrastructure projects will appear to be once accomplished. InCitu’s technology has also launched in seven other US cities, including Washington, DC, and New York.
A New View on Infrastructure Projects
InCitu’s smartphone-based platform tackles the challenge of communicating infrastructure projects by turning 3D models into AR visuals, helping people see a project as it could appear in real life. Instead of using an AR headset, users can scan a QR code with a smartphone camera at a construction site — often a constructing, bridge, roadway, or sidewalk — to view the life-sized AR visualization. Users can use their smartphones to walk around a project and look at it from any angle they’ll access.
Using AR to Visualize a Climate-Resilient Future
The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council used InCitu to indicate three AR models of latest projects during on-site visits: a house elevated on stilts to display flood-resistant construction, a bioswale showing natural stormwater management, and a living shoreline that uses natural materials to combat eroding beaches. The reception to date has been positive, with the council planning to make use of InCitu for AR demonstrations at its 2025 summit in May.
The Benefits of AR in Urban Planning
The technology’s effectiveness has convinced the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council to make use of InCitu to teach students at local high schools about bioswales and other infrastructure solutions to flooding. The council hopes that the technology will help students understand alternatives to less permeable "gray" infrastructure, like concrete. The use of AR tools like InCitu is predicted to turn into standard practice in urban planning as newer, younger graduates with higher knowledge of 3D modeling, AR, and other latest technologies enter the sector.
Conclusion
InCitu has remodeled 5,000 future developments available in AR, and over 250,000 residents have viewed future projects near their communities using the corporate’s AR platform. The use of AR in infrastructure planning has the potential to revolutionize the best way communities engage with and understand proposed developments. As the technology continues to evolve, it is probably going that we are going to see more widespread adoption of AR in urban planning, resulting in more informed and engaged communities.
