Table 10 Research agenda for future studies
Category | Research gap | Research agenda |
|---|---|---|
Geographical environment attributes | Lack of complex representation of realistic geographical environment attributes | Incorporating new and more diverse environmental attributes Integrating more complex combinations of attributes |
Lack of diversity in built environments | Incorporating 5Ds including density (e.g., building density), diversity (e.g., mixed land-use), design (e.g., street connectivity, sidewalk connectivity, and path width), distance (e.g., distance to services), and destination (availability of urban facilities) | |
Lack of diversity in natural environments | Exploring green environments based on their volume, height (trees, shrubs, grass), emplacement (location on streets), and various types such as green roofs, facades, etc | |
Lack of diversity in social environments | Considering the composition of the crowd in conjunction with density Providing precise pedestrian volume data for comparison purposes Exploring the impact of speed (vehicles and people) on the user’s behavior | |
Lack of integrating static and dynamic attributes | Combining static and dynamic attributes More variation between dynamic and static attributes | |
Limited evidence on the influence of time of day on individuals' perception of their environment | Investigating the effects of time of the day on environmental perceptions | |
Lack of knowledge on long-term effects of exposure to geographical environment attributes | Integrating momentary experiences from IVEs with daily routine data (i.e., active mobility habits) to gain insights into potential long-term effects Designing longitudinal VR experiments with follow-up assessments | |
Active mobility behavior | Limited methods integrating both objective and subjective measurements | Measuring active mobility both objectively and subjectively to achieve a comprehensive understanding of an individual's activity levels, behaviors, perceptions, and affective response |
Lack of exploration into how different destinations and trip purposes affect walking/cycling behavior | Investigating the influence of different destinations, purposes, and travel times on individuals' active behavior [67] (e.g., necessary activities, optional activities, and social activities [68]) | |
Generalizability of the findings | Limited sample sizes | Enhancing research generalizability and reliability by incorporating a larger sample size |
Relying exclusively on convenience sample (i.e., students, colleagues) | Considering diverse composition of participants with different occupational background | |
Lack of exploration into diverse socio-economic and socio-cultural groups | Considering diverse socio-economic status groups Considering diverse ethnic groups Conducting comparative analyses with different social groups | |
Technology-related development | Limited realism and user’s natural interaction with VE | Multidimensionality presentation of VE through incorporating other sensory cues into VR experiences (i.e., sound, smell, or touch) Using higher fidelity scenes and VR rendering techniques to address cyber sickness |
Limited knowledge on the impact of the level of familiarity with VR on perception and behaviors | Reporting and controlling for level of familiarity with VR | |
Limited knowledge on the factors contributing to cybersickness and its’ intensity | Reporting on occurrence and intensity of cybersickness Reporting on strategies used to minimize the impacts | |
Limited information on the level of immersion and presence and their impact on perception and behaviors | Evaluating the level of immersion and presence achieved in VEs using presence questionnaires, eye tracking and physiological measurements |