Asymmetric Cross-Reality Collaboration for Urban Sustainability Education

This paper presents a mixed-reality platform that leverages asymmetric cross-reality collaboration between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality to promote experiential learning and informed decision-making for urban environmental sustainability. Participants take on the role of policymakers addressing urban environmental challenges, engaging in problem-solving, strategy implementation, and reflection. AR users analyze real-time urban conditions, while VR users explore future outcomes of policy interventions, creating a dynamic cause-and-effect feedback loop that stimulates deeper insight into complex decision-making processes. The platform’s implementation, including shared point-of-views, persistent avatars, and virtual windows, demonstrates how immersive tools can enable co-located users to collaboratively assess the impact of urban policies, such as public transportation enhancements, on reducing carbon emissions and fostering sustainable urban development.