<boxed-text position="float">Case Study: Streetscape Public Consultati
+on
All streetscape projects in the public realm demand a complex response
+ from the design team. In addition to the physical design, the reacti
+on of users to the space will have both socioeconomic and cultural re
+percussions for long-term sustainability. Previous research has shown
+ that the way people interact with the urban public environment depen
+ds largely on their perception of the physical design of that space.
+In addition, a high number of users could provoke increased congestio
+n and deterioration in quality, while, naturally, too few visitors wi
+ll fail to satisfy commercial investment.
It is a central role of the quantity surveyor within the modern design
+ team to advise the client and other disciplines of how the project w
+ill influence both cost and value. This research was concerned with t
+rying to understand how projects undertaken with the aim of improving
+ the quality of public space could subsequently influence the economi
+c performance of the surrounding areas. The main objective of the wor
+k was to determine those environmental investments which will sustain
+ the population that best meets the aims of wealth creation and quali
+ty of life. The research fully recognised the importance of public pa
+rticipation in the design of urban public space, and sought to assist
+ the designer through the development of reliable and reproducible me
+thodologies. Although specific areas were studied as cases within the
+ work, the major output was that of a method for utilising photo-real
+istic computer models within value studies (Figure 8.1).<fig position
+="float">Figure 8.1 Map used in focus groups.</fig>
<a id="page_276"/>The public wealth, with its connotations for
+social, financial and environmental success, can be better assured wh
+ere the public has been adequately included in the design and develop
+ment processes. This work adds to a field of research concerning the
+use of computer models within social enquiry, which has been developi
+ng for many years. The work was also important in that it established
+ how experimental methods taken from <emphasis type="italic">environm
+ental economics</emphasis> (such as choice experiments) could be appl
+ied within the built environment, and particularly when using models
+traditionally used as a marketing or basic communication device withi
+n the industry (Figure 8.2).<fig position="float">Figure 8.2 Still
+ from 3D studio model.</fig>
This project provided a methodology and socioeconomic data for use by
+designers, and extended the applicability of choice experimentation i
+n the built environment. The method was developed using case study si
+tes which were selected due to the varied mix of individuals and grou
+ps which could be classed as users or stakeholders. The project clear
+ly demonstrated that highly quantitative approaches to the measuremen
+t of <emphasis type="italic">value</emphasis> could be <a id="
+page_277"/>used to record and present complex social, economic and po
+litical situations.
The project duration was 2 years, and was completed in 2001. It is tru
+e to say that computer visualisation technology has advanced signific
+antly in the intervening time period, and that the production of simi
+lar models today would be less time-consuming. It is also worth notin
+g that many computer-based modelling packages can either directly or
+indirectly store data in connection with ‘objects’ in t
+he space, thus ensuring that models can serve aesthetic, cost control
+ and project management tasks.</boxed-text>
