ABSTRACT
This paper describes a research-related studio experience of a group of graduate urban design students and faculty at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The study involves video tape simulations of urban streetscapes and is directed toward the eventual development of an urban design tool to be used in testing aspects of human perceptual response to physical design projects before they are implemented. Results of this study substantiate the existence of a “cognitive gap” between designers and lay persons in terms of their interest response to black and white, color, and video tape films of both real and simulated urban street environments. (Interest response to visual stimuli is taken as a measure of environmental complexity.) Non-designers registered about one-half the number of “interest peaks” as did lay persons in tests involving the same streetscape. Semantic differential and interest cue test results to video tapes of “real” streets were not found to be significantly different from those of simulated streets. Color appears to be an important variable in affecting interest responses.
