VR in Risk Communication

Abstract

The use of VR in research is growing, but lacks study in diverse cases. Specifically, investigations into VR as a tool to foster risk communication is scant, but increasingly relevant. As the sea level is predicted to rise in Tromsø, it is an example of a temporally distant but nonetheless impending risk with relatively little current attention. With focus on this risk as a case study, this project explores if and how VR impacts risk communication differently between stakeholders. The three stakeholder groups investigated are municipal planners, local business owners and citizens. They are interviewed about their risk understanding and risk perception after using a 2D map and a VR simulation of predicted sea level rise and storm surge risks in Tromsø in 2090. The findings show many differences between individual interviewees, with some common factors emerging between the stakeholder groups. Citizens are most impacted in terms of their perception and understanding, as they sense little control over the risk. The local business owners have diverse responses, have the most vulnerable stakes, but show relative little concern. Municipal planners are the least impacted, as they have a prior established and solid understanding of the risk.